Pixel 2 - Confused over the 'cloud', backup & sync, 'Drive' and 'Downloads' icon

[AF2018]

Hello! Thanks for helping..
Back in the 70's I was one of the original designers of the Intel 8086 microprocessor which made way for everything x86..even the very computers you folks are using today.
Of course, I am no longer a brilliant engineer and have become more of a tinkerer. Where I once advised CEOs in Silicon Valley, I now have to Google Search how to dim my Android's display. Now onto the question..

1. Is the 'Drive App' on my phone (looks like a rainbow triangle) going to be obsolete? I heard it will be replaced by Backup & sync in March 2018.. but the icon is still on my phone.

2. What is 'Drive' (triangle icon)? Is it a shorthand for 'Drive File Stream'?


3. My most confusion is this: Pixel2 phone: Settings > Google > Backup (back up to google drive) is OFF. Yet, whenever i take a picture on my phone, i can instantly see the picture on my desktop computer. How is this possible?

4. Stick with me here.. You can get to the same setting as in #3 by going to Settings > System > Backup (says its off).

What I also dont get is.. Going the #4 route, there is an image of a cloud with an up-pointing arrow inside it, next to 'Backup'.

So.. is this 'Backup' the same as the 'Cloud'? Is it referring to Backup & Sync?

Again.. what I do no understand is that this setting is off, yet if I take a picture with my phone, I can see it immediately on my computer. How is this possible?

5. Click Photos icon (colorful pinwheel) > Settings > Backup & sync. I have this OFF.
What is this option of Backup and sync? Is it to turn the cloud on/off?

Is it the same as the #4 Backup option?

Again, I also have this OFF.. yet when I take a picture with my Pixel, I can see it immediately on my computer (in my gmail account). How is this possible?

6. 'Downloads' icon on main screen (gray circle with down-pointing arrow): I read some other questions in here about this and I partially understand. From what I understand, this is a shortcut item.

But my question is, What am I looking at here? Downloads > Menu > Images > Camera

How did these photos get here? I took pictures and 4 of them appeared here.

I appreciate any and ALL help I can get. Please go easy on me. When it comes to the BASIC programming language / MS-DOS, I can still write any program dreamed of, but modern technology has become extremely complex for us old-timers trying to keep up. I don't need 'dumbed-down' answers as my brain hasnt failed me yet, but perhaps simplifying would make it easier. Thank you!

 

[SpookDroid]

Hi there! Nice to have a celebrity here! And with such impact! My hat off to thee, sir!

Let's see if we can help understand things a bit. I guess rather than fully trying to answer each question, this might help:
-Drive is the 'gateway' to Google's cloud service. This is for files, pictures, and even uses that for GMail attachment storage. Think of it as your network drive that you can access from anywhere. You can sync things to it automagically (even device back ups, which include settings, app lists, and some app data) or you can manually drag and drop things into it and manage it however you see fit, just like a drive on your computer. Haven't heard anything about it being replaced, but if it ever does, worry not, the icon/app would rename and update itself to whatever the new thing would be.
-The Photos app is a special cloud service dedicated to pictures and videos. This CAN be linked to your Google Drive, but not necessarily. Here you also have a few options: either back up media files in 'high quality' that Google will compress if too big (i.e. it will turn anything larger than 12MP into a 12MP-equivalent picture...anything else will also be compressed using Google's algorithms) and that will use free unlimited storage or upload in Full-Quality, which will not compress the pictures in any way BUT might count against your Google Drive storage quota. Now, for the special case of the Pixel line, you get free unlimited storage for Full Quality pictures taken before 2022 I believe for the Pixel 2; the OG Pixel is for life. Just as with Drive, you can back up media automatically or do it manually (you can also select which device folders to back up, if you want something other than camera files).
-The Downloads icon is just a shortcut to the Downloads list. This will include a bunch of files and locations, so use that just for reference. Anything you download using an app to, well, download files, will list it here, even if it's stored in a different folder.

Now, with that, let's see if we can tackle the questions.
1)Guess I've already answered. Don't think it will be obsolete, but if it changes to another name, the service will auto-update and change icon and name to whatever it becomes in the future (just like Android Pay became Google Pay and you didn't have to do anything but update the app).
2)Same. Answered above.
3)This back up option is mostly for a 'full' phone back up, including texts, settings, app list, and some app data (not all app data will be backed up, however, and no actual app files will be saved to your Drive account). This will count against your Drive quota. You should be able to select there, however, which Google account do to that to and select which elements to back up, including Media files, so you can select which things to back up and which ones to leave behind. If it's off, nothing should be uploading to your Drive as a back up. And here I have to ask, how are you seeing the files in your computer? In the Drive web page (http://drive.google.com)? In your computer as local files, and if so, do you know which service you use to sync them? If from Google, are you sure it's the same Google account you're seeing in your phone? Multiple Google accounts can be added and they all can back up with different options (so one account might not sync phone data, but both accounts would sync pictures, for instance).
4) Just different ways to get to the same Setting in the end. Once place should mirror the other if you make changes to the back up settings.
5) As mentioned above, Photos is a sub-service just for photos and videos. If you don't want to back up anything from your phone BUT pictures, this is where you'd do it. Again, if the sync option is not turned on, it shouldn't be uploading pictures to the Photos service. You can check this from the Photos web page (separate from Drive). http://photos.google.com As above, we still need to know how you're seeing your pictures in your computer, if via a web page or just locally.
6) As stated above, this is just a shortcut for downloaded files.

Now, for the 'problem' of having back up options off but still seeing pictures in your computer. Are you using any other cloud service, perhaps? Like Microsoft's OneDrive or Dropbox? These could also be syncing your media files.

 

[AF2018]

Amazing response. Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much. Ill have to read it a thousand times, but it will sink in eventually.

" having back up options off but still seeing pictures in your computer"... everything is exactly as I described it. I go to those settings, I see them 'Off', yet i can view the pictures from my camera on my gmail desktop computer. I dont even know what OneDrive/Dropbox is.. so I definitely didnt set them up.

The phone is straight out of the box, brand new. I took some pictures on it, checked my email on the desktop, and the pictures show up there. I have no clue. I know im old, and youre probably thinking, "He has them on, he just thinks its off".. but im looking at it right now.

My points from #3 and #4 are off and gray. Backup and sync is off.

Im seeing the pictures once i log into my gmail. Im not at the computer right now, ill edit this post later or respond with a new post so that you can see what im talking about. i think once im logged into my account on the desktop, i go to a link or something which goes to https://photos.google.com/

No clue. Any thoughts?

Again, I was expecting a one word reply from soneone, and you completely blew past my expectations here. Thanks again for your response.

 

[elshagon]

The Google Photos backup is separate from the Google Drive backup when it comes to pictures and videos. If you backup your Google Photos on your phone it will show up on the pc when you go to Photos under your Google account. You can also have your photos show up on your Google Drive as well if you turn the sync on to do so, but I believe it's simply like a bookmark to your Google Photos backup. So if you don't want your photos to show up in the cloud you would need to go into the Google Photos app and turn off the backup there.

 

[GSDer]

1. Is the 'Drive App' on my phone (looks like a rainbow triangle) going to be obsolete? I heard it will be replaced by Backup & sync in March 2018.. but the icon is still on my phone.

What you heard about 'Drive' being replaced by 'Backup & sync' refers to your desktop computer, not what's on your phone. Google has indeed made a replacement available on your desktop computer and if you plan on using Drive on your phone then you should update to the replacement on your computer so that the files stay in sync between both locations. Note that this is separate from the pictures/videos that Google will automatically backup from your phone (if you have that enabled in the Photos app).

5. Click Photos icon (colorful pinwheel) > Settings > Backup & sync. I have this OFF.

If you have this turned off then when you view any picture in the Photos app full screen you should see an up arrow in the upper right corner (see first screenshot below). And your Settings screen should look like the second screenshot below. If you end up seeing something like the third screenshot then your Photos -> Settings -> Backup & sync is really turned on, which would account for why you see those pictures when you login using your Gmail credentials.

 

[Mike Dee]

Welcome to the Pixel 2 subforum. Lots of helpful members here.