Pixel 2 / Android 9 : What Does "Remove from Album" mean?

[Android Central Question]

Does the photo get returned to where it came from (i.e. where all photos not in an album live)? Or is it deleted? I tried an experiment and could not find the photo among all of my photos, but maybe that was because I have too damn many photos and I am just not seeing it.

Thanks, Bob

 

[Rukbat]

Does the photo get returned to where it came from (i.e. where all photos not in an album live)?

The "album" is the last folder name in the path, so a picture in /sdcard/DCIM/Camera/2018/Christmas would be in an album named Christmas. (So would one in /sdcard/DCIM/Camera/2017/Christmas, so you could have a few albums with the same name, but different pictures in them.) There's no place "where all photos not in an album live". Albums are an artifact of a photo app like Gallery or Photos.

Or is it deleted?

Yep, that's what happens.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! If you're talking about Google Photos, then keep in mind it's essentially all virtual. With Google Photos, you upload your photos to the Google Photos cloud. If you create an album, it's a virtual album where you can assign any of your photos to be part of the album. One photo can be in multiple albums -- you're not making multiple copies of the photo. Removing a photos from a Google Photos album doesn't get rid of the photo completely -- you can still find it in your main Google Photos stream. If you have thousands of photos, it can be a little hard sometimes, but that's where the search function can be very powerful. Let's say the photo you're looking for was of a boat -- just type "boat" into the Google Photos search bar, and you'll see many (if not all) of the photos in your entire library where Google's AI was able to identify a boat.

 

[arelg]

The "album" is the last folder name in the path, so a picture in /sdcard/DCIM/Camera/2018/Christmas would be in an album named Christmas. (So would one in /sdcard/DCIM/Camera/2017/Christmas, so you could have a few albums with the same name, but different pictures in them.) There's no place "where all photos not in an album live". Albums are an artifact of a photo app like Gallery or Photos.

Yep, that's what happens.

Thanks for your reply Rukbat but when I look at DCIM/Camera via my Windows PC (the only way I know to look at my Pixel 2's files) I see only two folders (".inflight" and ".inflight_lowres") and many individual files.

 

[arelg]

Welcome to Android Central! If you're talking about Google Photos, then keep in mind it's essentially all virtual. With Google Photos, you upload your photos to the Google Photos cloud. If you create an album, it's a virtual album where you can assign any of your photos to be part of the album. One photo can be in multiple albums -- you're not making multiple copies of the photo. Removing a photos from a Google Photos album doesn't get rid of the photo completely -- you can still find it in your main Google Photos stream. If you have thousands of photos, it can be a little hard sometimes, but that's where the search function can be very powerful. Let's say the photo you're looking for was of a boat -- just type "boat" into the Google Photos search bar, and you'll see many (if not all) of the photos in your entire library where Google's AI was able to identify a boat.

Thanks B. Diddy! I didn't know about the search ability so that is helpful (to the extent that Google AI and I agree on the significant objects in, and attributes of, my photos!).

Using search I was able to find the photos and then find them when viewing the Pixel 2's files from my Windows PC and then copy them to the PC.

But before seeing your response I thought maybe I could find them on Google My Drive (using the PC) and I do see some of my photos there but they are all from my old phone. There are no photos from my new Pixel 2. Any guidance on that issue?

Thanks again, Bob

 

[B. Diddy]

The relationship between Google Photos and Google Drive can be a bit confusing. Google Photos is essentially part of Google Drive. You can add a folder in your Google Drive that shows you all of your Google Photos, which can make them a little easier to manipulate -- open your Google Drive app, tap Menu>Settings, and make sure the Auto Add toggle is turned on. Now in your Google Drive, you should see a Google Photos folder, categorized by month. This is not an additional instance of the photos -- it's just another way to access them.

Conversely, if you upload or save a photo directly to Google Drive, it won't show up automatically in your Google Photos library. To make those photos visible in your Google Photos library, open the Google Photos app, tap Menu>Settings, and turn on the Google Drive toggle.

 

[Rukbat]

Thanks for your reply Rukbat but when I look at DCIM/Camera via my Windows PC (the only way I know to look at my Pixel 2's files) I see only two folders (".inflight" and ".inflight_lowres") and many individual files.

Just FUI, a folder starting with a dot (as those 2 do), if it has pictures or other media files sound, video) in it, won't show in media apps - because they're hidden folders. (About the only apps that will find anything in them are file mangers. But, since Windows is Windows, not Linux (Android runs on Linux), it doesn't understand hiding folders by prefixing their names with dots, so it just shows them as folders. (Just as Linux shows hidden Windows folders - Linux doesn't understand Windows' file/folder attributes.)