Deleting images in Nexus 7 Gallery

[timz7]

I uploaded a profile image for YouTube (part of Google?) two days ago, and now I have a couple of Album 'images' in my Nexus 7 Galley I simply cannot remove. These two folders are titled '5 April 2013' and 'Scrapbook Photos'. They are displayed as square white images with three fading frames in the centre of the image. When I tap on either of them I get a pop-up black frame saying '0 images/videos available.' I have tried to resolve the issue by deleting my Google+ account - which I appear to have set up somehow, and I have explored the entire contents of the Internal Storage of the Nexus 7 while connected to my PC. I can find nothing related to these two rogue items in Gallery. If press and hold one of these 'images' so it is highlighted, then tap on the three little squares at the top of the screen, all I get is 'Details' and when I tap that it says (e.g.) '6 of 8 items: Title: Scrapbook Photos'. Nowhere ever do I get a trash icon at the top of the screen where I could delete it/them. Someone please help me before I go MAD !!!!! Incidentally, and maybe not entirely unconnected, does anyone know how you delete a profile image from a Google account? It seems to be impossible! Thanks very much!

 

[MJKearney]

The Gallery app also shows you online photos that have been uploaded to Google+. I believe that any photos that are associated with your Google account are automatically placed in your Google+ collection and will show up in the Gallery app. This photo collection used to be part of Picasa, which Google is now phasing out and replacing with Google+.

To delete albums that are empty or that you don't want anymore, such as Scrapbook Photos and Instant Upload, you need to go to the Picasa website and, if needed, log in. If you try to go to the normal Picasa site, it will redirect you to your photos page on Google+. Therefore, you need to go to the following link instead: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/myphotos?noredirect=1

This brings you to the old Picasa site. Once there, you'll see all your albums listed, including empty ones like Scrapbook Photos. Tap or click on the album you want to delete. Once that album appears, click on the Actions link shown above the album. Then click the Delete Album option.

Next, go to the Nexus 7 Settings > Accounts > Google > {your Google account name}, and uncheck the boxes for Google Photos and Instant Upload so that they no longer sync and Instant Upload is disabled.

Now, go to the Gallery app on your N7. Tap the menu button (3 vertical dots), then Refresh. The empty albums you just deleted will now be gone.

By the way, if you're not interested in being able to view your online albums, but only want to see photos stored locally on your N7, then I'd recommend using a different photo viewing app. There are quite a few to choose from on the Play Store, some free, others for a small price. I use the free QuickPic app. It's versatile and works well, though there are plenty of other apps that might be more to your liking. There are also alternative apps that allow you to view your online Picasa/Google photos, in case you don't like Gallery.

Good luck!

 

[MJKearney]

Oh, sorry, I forgot to answer your second question regarding profile pictures on Google. Here are the two most common places where you might want to do this.

If you want to delete or change your picture in Gmail or Google Voice or Google Talk, go to your Gmail page using a desktop browser. Click on the settings icon (the round, gear shaped icon) on the right side, and select Settings. On the settings page, under the General tab, scroll down to "My picture", and click on "Change picture". Then select either "No picture", or choose another picture by using one of the other options shown. The new picture will then appear next to emails, texts, and conversations on the respective Google sites/apps.

If you want to change your overall Google profile picture, go to any Google site for which you use your account (Calendar, News, Voice, Search, etc) and click on your picture in the upper right corner. Then click on your picture again in the small popup window that appears. Your Google+ profile page will then open. Or you can go directly to your Google+ profile page if it's more more convenient for you. Again, do this using a desktop browser.

Once you're on your Google+ profile page, either click on your round profile picture that is located on your cover photo, or click on the picture as described in the above paragraph. The "Select profile photo" window will pop up, with multiple options for choosing a new photo. This photo will then be the profile picture shown in the upper right corner on all the Google sites that you log in to, and will of course be the profile picture on your Google+ pages.

However, you may want to delete your Google+ profile picture altogether. To do this, go to your Google+ site on a desktop browser. Click on the "Photos" link in the column on the left side of the page. Then click on the "Albums" tab toward the top of the page. Finally, click on the "Profile photos" square. All of your profile photos will be shown, including the one currently being used by Google.

Click on the photo that you want to delete. An enlarged version will appear. Click on the trash can icon in the upper left corner to delete this photo, and confirm the deletion. If this is the photo currently being used as your profile picture, you will now have a generic human outline icon being used as your new Google profile picture. Boring, but private!

I hope this helps you out, and good luck!

 

[timz7]

Brilliant! A wonderfully clear, concise, and coherent piece of help. Thank you so much. Why do these new devices make everything so complicated? As you can probably gather, as a retired TV consultant I am fairly comfortable with my PC and Windows XP (until it dies!) but I struggle a little with these new devices and the way they function. So much seems to be connected to, or reliant on an aspect of Google applications which are impossible to understand (for me, at least). I guess I am trying to make my Nexus 7 emulate the desktop PC, and I must get out of that thought process, and make the best of what I have. Many thanks for taking the time to reply and enabling me to resolve my problem. So easy when you know how!

 

[timz7]

Thanks again for another piece of straightforward, no nonsense help. I do appreciate the time you have taken to provide clear solutions to resolve a grumpy old man's problems. Thank you!!

 

[MJKearney]

Brilliant! A wonderfully clear, concise, and coherent piece of help. Thank you so much. Why do these new devices make everything so complicated? As you can probably gather, as a retired TV consultant I am fairly comfortable with my PC and Windows XP (until it dies!) but I struggle a little with these new devices and the way they function. So much seems to be connected to, or reliant on an aspect of Google applications which are impossible to understand (for me, at least). I guess I am trying to make my Nexus 7 emulate the desktop PC, and I must get out of that thought process, and make the best of what I have. Many thanks for taking the time to reply and enabling me to resolve my problem. So easy when you know how!

You're quite welcome! Regarding the difficulty of using new devices, I don't think they're necessarily more complex than PCs or older devices, just less familiar in their operation, as is anything new. In fact, in many ways they're easier to use because of how much the ecosystem is interconnected. This is a bit of a double edged sword, though, as it also creates kind of a jigsaw puzzle in trying to figure out how everything is connected, and how you get from point A to point B. So, as unintuitive as it is to do image management within the Google universe, there is a system that almost makes sense once you start connecting the pieces together (and reading lots of help files and scouring the internet for answers!).

 

[irratebass1]

This worked for me thanks!

 

[martynston]

I had the same problem how it, it is happening because it is auto sync with Google +. It took a while but I got rid of the photos like this. First go to your gallery app hold your finger on it until you see app info at top of page drag and drop gallery app on it. The press delete data followed by force stop. Repeat action for Google +. This should do the trick. Google + and when it prompts you to do you wish to auto sync photo when connected to with if say not now.

 

[Vijay Nair]

Thanks. I had the same problem.

I don't think I could have solved the problem without this nice piece of advise that is so well written

 

[Gringo Bush Pilot]

The Gallery app also shows you online photos that have been uploaded to Google+. I believe that any photos that are associated with your Google account are automatically placed in your Google+ collection and will show up in the Gallery app. This photo collection used to be part of Picasa, which Google is now phasing out and replacing with Google+.

To delete albums that are empty or that you don't want anymore, such as Scrapbook Photos and Instant Upload, you need to go to the Picasa website and, if needed, log in. If you try to go to the normal Picasa site, it will redirect you to your photos page on Google+. Therefore, you need to go to the following link instead: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/myphotos?noredirect=1

This brings you to the old Picasa site. Once there, you'll see all your albums listed, including empty ones like Scrapbook Photos. Tap or click on the album you want to delete. Once that album appears, click on the Actions link shown above the album. Then click the Delete Album option.

Next, go to the Nexus 7 Settings > Accounts > Google > {your Google account name}, and uncheck the boxes for Google Photos and Instant Upload so that they no longer sync and Instant Upload is disabled.

Now, go to the Gallery app on your N7. Tap the menu button (3 vertical dots), then Refresh. The empty albums you just deleted will now be gone.

By the way, if you're not interested in being able to view your online albums, but only want to see photos stored locally on your N7, then I'd recommend using a different photo viewing app. There are quite a few to choose from on the Play Store, some free, others for a small price. I use the free QuickPic app. It's versatile and works well, though there are plenty of other apps that might be more to your liking. There are also alternative apps that allow you to view your online Picasa/Google photos, in case you don't like Gallery.

Good luck!

There is still the problem of the pictures, although removed from google picture gallery, the pictures remain on my N7 still show because they are cached in the ES Explorer. The file listing pictures still holds over a hundred photos. Because they are coded, I can't pick and delete the unwanted photos in the gallery. Am I missing something here?
Thank you, Don