[Feature] Mobile app: Albums must contain photos to stay selectable for backup

[nurjns]

I have searched the existing feature requests, both open and closed, to make sure this is not a duplicate request.

• Yes

The feature

Current behavior:
In order for an album/folder on my phone to be visible and selectable for backup in Immich, it must contain at least one photo. As soon as I remove all photos from the folder (to keep my local storage clean), the folder disappears from the list in Immich and is no longer selected for backup.

Problem:
I prefer to keep my local storage clean by regularly removing photos after they’ve been backed up. However, with Immich, this means those folders are no longer backed up or even visible for selection, which is very different from how it works in Google Photos or Synology Photos — where even empty folders remain selectable for backup.

Suggestion:
Please consider adding an option to keep previously selected folders/albums in the backup list, even when they’re temporarily empty. This would help users like me who rely on folder-based organization but prefer to free up space on their phones.

Platform

• Server
• Web
• Mobile

[mmomjian]

#16673