FAQ
Questions, answered.
Everything about how DejaView puts your photos on a display — kept private, local, and read-only.
What is DejaView?
DejaView is a macOS menu bar app that streams photos from your Apple Photos albums or any folder on your Mac to wall displays like DAKboard — over your local network, with no cloud uploads and no account.
Does DejaView upload my photos to the cloud?
No. Your photos are served directly from your Mac over your local network and never leave it. There are no cloud uploads, no accounts, and no public share links. Access to your library is read-only, so your originals are never modified.
How is this different from a public iCloud shared album?
A public iCloud shared-album link makes your photos accessible to anyone with the URL, anywhere on the internet. DejaView keeps everything on your local network instead — the same convenience without exposing your family photos publicly.
What displays does it work with?
Anything that can load an image from a URL: DAKboard, Home Assistant, MagicMirror, Raspberry Pi kiosks, a spare monitor, or any web browser on your network.
Does it work with Apple Photos smart and shared albums?
Yes. You can stream regular albums, smart albums, and shared albums — and combine several into a single stream with proportional weighting and your choice of ordering.
Can I stream from folders instead of Apple Photos?
Yes. Point DejaView at one or more folders on your Mac — including external or network drives — and it streams them just like an album. Apple Photos access is only requested if you choose Apple Photos as a source.
Do I need to keep my Mac running?
Yes. DejaView serves photos live from your Mac, so it needs to be on and awake while your display is showing them. There's no server or subscription in between — just your Mac and your display.
What macOS version do I need?
DejaView requires macOS 15.0 or later. Your display devices just need to be on the same local network and able to load an image from a URL.
Is DejaView free?
DejaView is free to download from the Mac App Store, with an optional Pro upgrade that unlocks additional streams and features.
Put your photos on display.
Free to download from the Mac App Store. Set up in under a minute — no account, no cloud.