> Self-hosting is when you have a computer in your house do those same things
Self-hosting is more about deploying self-selected software onto a server. It can be a server at home, but I for one have a lot of services running on a VPS. Self-hosting is more about control of the data and software, than the location of the hardware.
> Well...since our friends can't access our server, the only good way to do that would probably be using an app like Google Photos or iCloud
Get a domain and set up a subdomain for Immich (maybe add a tunnel if it is a home server). I have friends using my Immich instance without problems, it's just another app.
> I'm talking publicly funded, accessible, at cost cloud-services.
I can't see how one can convince people to switch to a community cloud if Apple Cloud etc. exists. Most people just won't understand the difference or benefits.