10 Google Photos Life Hacks Every User Should Know
Google Photos isn’t an app you just set up and forget about. Despite its initial simplicity, Google Photos has a wealth of settings and features that can be configured to make it more efficient. These tips will help you manage a huge photo library, reduce your cloud storage, hide photos of exes, and disable artificial intelligence in search.
Use Space Saver mode to upload more photos without running out of cloud storage.
If you’re worried about running out of cloud storage and don’t care about the highest possible photo and video backup quality, try Google’s Storage Saver mode. When backing up, it automatically reduces the resolution of photos and videos to help you save cloud storage while maintaining acceptable quality. Photos are downsized to 16MP, while videos remain at 1080p. However, this only works for new uploads, so the sooner you enable this feature, the better. Go to Settings > Backup > Photo & Video Quality and switch to Storage Saver mode .
Use the Hide Faces feature to prevent Google Photos from showing up photos of your exes again.
Google Photos’s Memories feature displays old photos and videos, combining them into slideshows and videos. But this can backfire if notifications accidentally show you photos of people (like an ex) you’d rather not see while you’re trying to work. Luckily, Memories is highly customizable. You can tell Google Photos to show more photos of your partner, children, or pets, or limit the number of photos of specific people. You can even block people from appearing in suggestions. Go to Photos > Settings > Memories > Hide Faces . Then, select the faces you want to block.
Use this setting to automatically backup locked photos to the cloud.
Google Photos lets you use the “Locked Folder” feature to store sensitive photos or documents in a secure folder. Access to this folder is only possible with a PIN or biometric data. However, by default, the contents of the Locked Folder are stored locally only. Even if your entire Google Photos library is backed up, you could lose all of these protected files if you lose your phone.
There’s a hidden setting that allows you to securely backup and sync locked photos. Even after syncing to the cloud and other devices, they will remain in the locked folder. If this feature isn’t already set up, go to the Collections tab, swipe to the bottom, and select Locked Folder . During setup, you can enable the cloud backup feature. Alternatively, open the locked folder, tap the cloud icon in the top toolbar, and enable Locked Folder Backup .
Save space by compressing photos and videos you’ve already uploaded.
The days of unlimited media backup in Google Photos are long gone. If you have Google’s free 15GB plan, your entire photo library may be completely backed up, causing disruptions to services like Gmail and Google Drive. If you want to make do with your existing free storage (or don’t want to upgrade to a more expensive plan), try the “Recover Storage” feature first. This will filter your already uploaded photos and videos and compress them to the same quality as the storage-saving mode I mentioned above. To do this, go to the Google Photos website . In the sidebar, select Storage and click “More details” under “Recover Storage.” Check the “I understand” box and click “Compress existing photos and videos” to get started.
Use this setting to ensure that you back up all your important folders.
Google Photos on Android can do more than just back up your photo gallery. Because Google Photos has direct access to the Android file system, it can download photos and videos from any folder. This includes the Downloads folder for Chrome or the WhatsApp media folder. However, you should check exactly which folders are being downloaded. You might want to download photos from the Downloads folder but exclude WhatsApp media (which are already uploaded to Google Drive if you have online backup enabled). In Photos settings , go to Backup Settings > Default Backup > Device Folders , select the folders you want to back up, and uncheck any you want to skip.
Use Manage Storage to fix blurry photos, large videos, and screenshots.
Google Photos has a storage management tool that helps you get rid of photos and videos that are taking up unnecessary space on your plan. In Photos settings, go to Backup > Manage Storage . This will open the Google One storage management screen, where you can also delete large attachments and files. But my favorite Google Photos option is under “Cleanup by Service.” Here, Google will suggest photos and videos for deletion, grouped into tabs at the top. This includes large video files, duplicate photos, unwanted screenshots, and more. Select the photos you want to delete, then tap “Delete” at the top.
Remove from trash to ensure the photos are completely removed.
If you’re clearing out your Google Photos library to free up space, you might run into a problem. You’ve just deleted a bunch of photos and videos, but your cloud storage hasn’t decreased. That’s because deleting a photo or video doesn’t actually delete them from your account, at least not yet. Google stores media files for up to 30 days in case you want to restore them later. To completely delete deleted media, scroll down to the “Collections” section and select “Trash” (or “Recycle Bin “). Here, click the three-dot menu button, select “Empty Trash,” and confirm the deletion by selecting “Delete Permanently.”
Restore classic search by disabling the “Request photos” feature.
Google is trying to integrate AI-powered editing features and Gemini into the Google Photos app. Most of these features are located in the “Create” tab, which is easy to ignore. But the “Ask Photos” feature is something else entirely . AI-powered search is now integrated into search results. This means quickly finding photos of a specific place, person, or saved album takes a little longer and may rely on AI suggestions. Fortunately, there’s a toggle that disables all AI features in search. Go to Photos Settings > Preferences > Gemini Features in Photos and turn off “Ask Photos.” You can also disable all Gemini features in Google Photos at the same time.
Set up incremental data export from Google Takeout for secure local backup.
Google offers Google Takeout, a service that lets you download an offline copy of all your Google data, including all your emails, files, and photos. Offline backups should be part of any comprehensive backup strategy, making Takeout a useful feature. However, Takeout has always had a problem: every time you send a request, it downloads all your data, even if you only want to see the latest items.
Google has now introduced an incremental export feature. This means that only data created since the last export will be downloaded. Go to the Google Takeout website , sign in to your account, and select only Google Photos from the list. Then, select the albums and media files you want to export and click Next . Under Frequency, select either Export every month for 1 year or Export every 2 months for 1 year . Make sure Only new and updated items is selected to enable incremental export.
Switch to Amazon Photos to automatically upload photos from your desktop.
If you pay for Google’s $20/month AI Pro plan, you get 5 TB of cloud storage included in the price. This is great for backing up your photo library and all the files on your computer. If you’re a professional photographer or videographer, or just like backing up photos on your Mac (after editing), Google used to have the perfect solution—Google Photos backup for desktop computers. It monitored a folder and automatically uploaded new items to the cloud. Unfortunately, this feature is no longer available.
If you need this feature, switch to Amazon Photos on your computer. The dedicated desktop app uploads photos and videos from any folder in the background. If you have Amazon Prime, you can upload unlimited photos for free, as well as 5GB of videos.