...The path of the files, their metadata and additional information are stored in the database. You can create maps showing your photos along with the locations where photos have been taken. If your media files do not contain coordinates, you can use tracks (GPX) to add them. An example can be found here: https://cactus26.4lima.de/Teide/index.html.
Alternatively you can create a web gallery: https://cactus26.4lima.de/BuckMountain/gallery.html
There are many ways to export all data. So you always retain all power over your own data and you will never get locked in.