[mudwub]

I was curious if there is a way to create a photo album through google photos that is only stored on the local device?

I noticed that when I created an album of photos that were only stored on my phone, it went ahead and backed up those photos, which I could then see if I accessed google photos through a browser.

If I deleted those photos through the web app, it would then delete the album entirely on my phone.

[B. Diddy]

You'd have to do that with a file manager app, like Total Commander. Create a new directory (as a subdirectory of the /Pictures directory, to keep things easy to find), and use the file manager app to move/copy the desired photo files to that directory. Then open Google Photos, tap Menu>Device Folders, and you'll see it as a new folder. If you don't want it to back up to your Google Photos in the cloud, make sure the cloud icon associated with the folder is toggled off (i.e., has a line through it).

[mudwub]

Going through the google pixel file manager and creating a new directory in the pictures folder did the trick.

Thank you for the help!