Photos saved from cloud are auto-deleting.. help!!

[Android Central Question]

I recently used the free up space option to back up my photos to google photos. As expected, this deleted the photos from my phone. HOWEVER, I wanted to keep some of the photos on my device so I downloaded them onto my phone.. but after one day, the photos disappear! Any of the backed up photos I download to my device are deleted after one day. Is there any way I can stop this from happening? Please help!

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Which phone? Some phones have an annoying "smart cleaner" function that will automatically clear your /Download directory on a periodic basis. How are you downloading the photos back to the phone -- using the Google Photos app, or some other way?