Picasa, Google + & Phone Storage

[tcm1969]

Nexus 5. I have deleted all local photos and videos because they are set to auto upload to Google +. In spite of my deleting, "storage" says 1.9g of space is still being taken buy photos and videos. Interestingly, when I open the gallery app its not empty. It has years worth of photos saved with Picasa. But, they are also in Google+. I cannot delete them in the gallery app but I can delete them with a file explorer. My question is if I delete the Picasa photos with the file explorer will they also disappear from Google+? I don't want to lose anything obviously. Also, is this Picasa business something I set up the years ago and forgot about? Wasn't Picasa a Google company or at least became a Google company? If it is something I set up, how do i turn it off so I don't upload to Picasa and to Google+?

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

[B. Diddy]

I may have mentioned this in a previous response, but there can be quite a few thumbnails stored locally that can take up space, so that is probably part of the reason. They're stored in sdcard0/DCIM/.thumbnails.

Picasa was acquired by Google years ago, and it essentially became Google+ Photos. You're probably still seeing all of those photos because the Gallery and Photos apps are showing you what you have in the cloud. In Photos, if you swipe in from the left, you can select On Device, which will only show photos stored locally. For more info, see this guide: http://forums.androidcentral.com/ge...stalling-apps-managing-media.html#post3400938

Posted via Android Central App.
Please excuse any typos or autocorrect derps.

 

[tcm1969]

You did and pointed me to the file manager where I found Picasa and that's where the 1.9g of used space is. This is what my gallery app looks like. As you can see all of them have the little Picasa symbol in the corner. I can't delete them because apparently they aren't on my device yet they are taking up storage space on my device! And, if Picasa is separate from Google+ or not. If I delete the Picasa files with the file manager does it wipe them out of G+? And why do they upload to G+ & Picasa??
Lots of questions but thank you!

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[tcm1969]

I may have mentioned this in a previous response, but there can be quite a few thumbnails stored locally that can take up space, so that is probably part of the reason. They're stored in sdcard0/DCIM/.thumbnails.

Picasa was acquired by Google years ago, and it essentially became Google+ Photos. You're probably still seeing all of those photos because the Gallery and Photos apps are showing you what you have in the cloud. In Photos, if you swipe in from the left, you can select On Device, which will only show photos stored locally. For more info, see this guide: http://forums.androidcentral.com/ge...stalling-apps-managing-media.html#post3400938

Posted via Android Central App.
Please excuse any typos or autocorrect derps.

I'll add the screen shot...

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[tcm1969]

Sorry, here it is...

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[B. Diddy]

It's a strange distinction that Google still maintains. The Picasa logo is only used in the stock Gallery app, and is meant to show that the photo is in your cloud Picasa (aka Google+) album. Remember that Picasa and Google+ Photo albums are exactly the same--there is no difference.

One of the key differences between the stock Gallery app and the Google+-related Photos app is that on the Gallery app, you cannot delete a cloud photo. On the Photos app, you can. So if you viewed those same photos on Photos, you could actually delete them from your cloud album.

I think a lot of the space taken up by photos could be due to thumbnails. The full photos aren't taking up that space--it would be much more than 1.9 GB if it were, since I see you have a lot of photos in your albums. If you don't want your cloud photos to sync with your Gallery app, go to Settings>Accounts-Google>[your Google account], and uncheck Google Photos (not Google+ Photos). Google Photos syncs your cloud albums to the stock Gallery app, while Google+ Photos syncs to the Google+ Photos app. I know, really confusing, isn't it? If you don't see Google Photos, then it might be listed as Picasa or Photos.

After unchecking it, you could then go to Settings>Apps>All, select Gallery, and Clear Cache and Clear Data. Then next time you open Gallery, it will rebuild its database based only on images stored locally, without including cloud albums.

 

[tcm1969]

It's a strange distinction that Google still maintains. The Picasa logo is only used in the stock Gallery app, and is meant to show that the photo is in your cloud Picasa (aka Google+) album. Remember that Picasa and Google+ Photo albums are exactly the same--there is no difference.

One of the key differences between the stock Gallery app and the Google+-related Photos app is that on the Gallery app, you cannot delete a cloud photo. On the Photos app, you can. So if you viewed those same photos on Photos, you could actually delete them from your cloud album.

I think a lot of the space taken up by photos could be due to thumbnails. The full photos aren't taking up that space--it would be much more than 1.9 GB if it were, since I see you have a lot of photos in your albums. If you don't want your cloud photos to sync with your Gallery app, go to Settings>Accounts-Google>[your Google account], and uncheck Google Photos (not Google+ Photos). Google Photos syncs your cloud albums to the stock Gallery app, while Google+ Photos syncs to the Google+ Photos app. I know, really confusing, isn't it? If you don't see Google Photos, then it might be listed as Picasa or Photos.

After unchecking it, you could then go to Settings>Apps>All, select Gallery, and Clear Cache and Clear Data. Then next time you open Gallery, it will rebuild its database based only on images stored locally, without including cloud albums.

Holy cow!
Thank you so much for the info! Super helpful!!

Sent from my Nexus 5 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[tcm1969]

It's a strange distinction that Google still maintains. The Picasa logo is only used in the stock Gallery app, and is meant to show that the photo is in your cloud Picasa (aka Google+) album. Remember that Picasa and Google+ Photo albums are exactly the same--there is no difference.

One of the key differences between the stock Gallery app and the Google+-related Photos app is that on the Gallery app, you cannot delete a cloud photo. On the Photos app, you can. So if you viewed those same photos on Photos, you could actually delete them from your cloud album.

I think a lot of the space taken up by photos could be due to thumbnails. The full photos aren't taking up that space--it would be much more than 1.9 GB if it were, since I see you have a lot of photos in your albums. If you don't want your cloud photos to sync with your Gallery app, go to Settings>Accounts-Google>[your Google account], and uncheck Google Photos (not Google+ Photos). Google Photos syncs your cloud albums to the stock Gallery app, while Google+ Photos syncs to the Google+ Photos app. I know, really confusing, isn't it? If you don't see Google Photos, then it might be listed as Picasa or Photos.

After unchecking it, you could then go to Settings>Apps>All, select Gallery, and Clear Cache and Clear Data. Then next time you open Gallery, it will rebuild its database based only on images stored locally, without including cloud albums.

Sorry to be a pain but I don't see the option you mentioned...
In settings-accounts I see this (first pic), then when I tap Google, I see this (second pic)
There's no "photos" option. If I go into the Google+ option I see (third pic)



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[B. Diddy]

On that second screen, tap your email address. That's what I meant by [your Google account].

Posted via Android Central App.
Please excuse any typos or autocorrect derps.

 

[tcm1969]

Thank you! I can quit binge drinking now!!

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