Fun & Facts   Tech
By Lifestyle Team | 20 June 2023

How Does Google Photos Work?

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Backing Up Photos With Google

Our phones and computers store countless memories, and it’s important to back those memories up. Whether you’ve snapped 1000 photos of your trip to Japan, or if you’ve just taken a few snapshots of your kid’s first birthday party, Google Photos can make sure you won’t lose those memories if anything happens to your favorite devices.

How does Google Photos work, though? It’s a pretty common question. Google doesn’t give you all of the information that you need upfront, and it tends to be a little confusing for some people.

So, we’ve decided to make it easy for you. We’ve covered every small detail of the Google Photos backup feature, and we’ve put everything you need to know in one place.

Desktop

Google Photos is a bit different on desktop computers. It’ll require you to download an app, and there are a few steps you’ll need to take to actually backup your photos.

First, you’ll need to download Google Backup and Sync. It’s available on the Google App store, and it’s compatible with all operating systems. The file is small. So, you don’t need to worry about it taking up space on your computer.

After you’ve downloaded and installed Google Backup and Sync, you’ll want to organize your photos and videos into different folders. If they’re already organized, you’re one step ahead of the game.

Next, sign into your Google account, and load Google Photos. You’ll have the option to pick between backing up photos, videos, or both. Just pick the option that works best for you.

After that, you’ll be asked to pick which folders you want to backup. Just select the ones that you feel like backing up, pick an upload size, and then hit start. From there, Google Photos will do the rest.

It’s important to note that there are size limits you’ll have to follow. Pictures can’t be any bigger than 100MB, and videos can’t be more than 10GB. The vast majority of your files will be well within those limits.

Mobile

How does Google Photos work on mobile devices? Well, it’s even simpler than using the desktop version. In fact, the majority of the program’s features work automatically.

To use it, you need to download the Google Photos app. The Backup and Sync app is built-in. So, you won’t need to download it like you do on the desktop version.

Once you have the app, sign in with your Google account. You’ll find a menu tab at the top of your screen, and if you click on it, you’ll find the settings tab.

Here’s where everything becomes automatic. In the settings tab, you’ll find Backup and Sync. When you click on it, it’ll allow you to turn it on and off. Turning it on will automatically backup the photos and videos on your mobile device. You don’t have to pick folders or anything else. If you turn it off, your photos won’t be backed up.

If you’re worried about your photos being seen by others on the cloud, you don’t have to worry. All of your pictures will be backed up and set to private. If you want to share them with people, you can set individual pictures to a more public setting.

While the system works automatically, you need to occasionally check your Google Photos account to make sure you’re not out of room. If you are out of room, you’ll want to turn off Backup and Sync until you free up some room.

Conclusion

That’s everything you need to know about how Google Photos works. It’s a pretty simple app, and the mobile version is entirely automatic. If you were having any trouble getting it to work, we hope that this helped you out.