Stop 2-way syncing with Google Photos?

[cohoman]

In the past, all my photos taken on my Samsung S23 would automatically be uploaded to my Google Photos account. Then, if I deleted these photos on my phone they would still be backed up in Google Photos. But, now it seems that when I delete a photo in Google Photos it is also deleted on my phone!


Is there a way to only have one-way photo backup (phone -> Google Photos) and not have the 2-way syncing?

 

[InquirerGenerator]

Dude, you actually need to pick one or the other. Otherwise you're doing a lot of picking and choosing without understanding Google Photos or you should learn a couple small suggestions.

If you can explain a normal use case example of of how you're often doing something where this causes an issue I may can offer better advice but here ya go to start:

Basically, Google Photos automatically wants to perform a local backup to the cloud of the Android AOSP default defined folder that all camera photos should be placed in.

(The DCIM folder).

If you store any pictures or video in other folders on your phone, those are not backed up unless you tell Google Photos to also back up that folder.

I personally never turn on backup for any folders in Google Photos, so the only thing it does by default is my photos taken by my camera.

If I have a photo that I took yesterday evening and I think, I should delete that off of my phone… I don’t even think twice about the fact that I open Google Photos to look at any picture I ever take. Because it is a backed up service, deleting from the delete button in Google photos will eliminate the photo from my account and put it in the trash, it will also delete the local file if I have not yet removed the files from my phone.

This is how cloud backup works for all photo services, whether it is Microsoft OneDrive on a Windows computer or anything else. There is a warning always given to a user first so that they know whether or not a local or cloud version of a file is also going to permanently delete the local version as well. Or what not

The reason I’m telling you, this is if you took a photo and Google Photos is regularly backing everything up, you should be using Google photos, as if deleting it from the cloud is deleting it permanently. Try not to think of having a local and a cloud version of the file with the way this works.

Instead, think: “If I delete this file, I have deleted it. I don’t differentiate whether it is backed up or not general cases.”

This is annoying to me on iPhone because Apple has a different way of handling the difference between files and photos as two separate file systems that you have to pick one or the other and the photos when can only be handled through the Apple photo system.

Anyway, if you have a photo that you want to keep on your local device, but you do not want it backed up to Google photos, first of all is it from your camera? Then you are going to have to make an effort to move that photo out of your DCM/Camera folder that all pictures and videos are by default inside.

This is just the way that android is organized from the system level so that everything can work together smoothly.

I use Google to access every photo I ever take, so if I think to myself, I wanted to show you right now in this post a photo I took yesterday I would quickly go open Google photos and make sure it is saved to my device and then attach it to this.

Since Samsung offers a good gallery app that is not Google photos, it often makes users confused on why deleting the photo from Google photos also will eliminated it from the device after it had been backed up.

Any cloud storage system sinking is going to do that, but it’s not obvious to many people by default that even though it’s a very simple system that it is easy to work with it’s confusing for some reason it just never explained to you. That was the default or something.

Anyway, I don’t know if this answer to your question but if you can describe what you are doing as an example of why you have a photo in photos that you also are upset that it is gone from your device, I can tell you the easiest way to not have that situation.

Just so you know, every cloud system works this way to some degree. Apple has the most obnoxious of them, since iCloud is not a backup service and instead is a syncing service. So all of your Apple devices sync, a photo, so opening an apple official photos app and deleting a picture that you took yesterday. Will delete it from the actual iCloud itself because it’s not a storage system. It is sinking in the cloud to your iPhone and your iPad too.

Still a lot of people being so confused when they computer, delete a photo they didn’t like from yesterday off of their computer and then when they open their iPad later, they think I needed that photo on here but not on my computer where in the world did it go?

Google photos is fantastic and the best way to use. It is always defaulting to using it as thinking of where every picture you ever take is going to be located, which I understand if you’re trying to move a photo out of your cloud back up then you will have to make an adjustment, but I’ll offer some advice on that if you tell exactly why.

Sorry, I wrote so much, but had some coffee and was thinking too much about when I was new to Google photos because I didn’t fully understand it, especially as a Samsung user, but once I changed my way of thinking and using it as the only default way to open a photo it made it easier to not ever even consider the problem you’re running into right now I think. Anyway, hope that helps and please reply and I’ll clarify further to help you in a much shorter post

 

[SpookDroid]

This option was removed from Photos looooong ago (alongside the option to only back up when plugged in). If you choose to sync a folder or camera pictures to Photos, all signed-in devices are synced, and that includes deletion/edits.

 

[B. Diddy]

You can always use the Free Up Space option in Google Photos -- that will automatically delete any locally stored photo or video that Google Photos knows is already backed up safely in the cloud.

If you want to delete a specific photo from your phone but keep it in your Google Photos cloud library, then open Google Photos, select the photo in question, tap the 3-dot menu button at the top right (and NOT the trashcan Delete button at the bottom right), then Delete From Device.

 

[cohoman]

Thanks for the comments and feedback.


My use case is this:


I take photos with my phone, and I want all photos to be automatically backed up to a cloud service (in my case, Google Drive). I usually only want a few select photos on my phone, so I delete all the ones that I don't want on my phone using the Samsung Gallery app. So, all of my photos are in the cloud, and only a select few are kept on my phone. Also, I may want to keep a photo on my phone but I don't want it stored in the cloud. So, I delete that photo using the Google Photos app on my phone from the cloud storage and it still remains on my phone.


This is how I've been operating for 5+ years when using a Samsung phone. It isn't until very recently that I'm seeing a 2-way syncing of photos between Google Photos and my local Samsung storage. Maybe something has changed with Google Photos and Google Drive that I'm not aware of?

 

[cohoman]

Ok, after playing around with the Google Photos app on my phone and the Samsung Gallery app, I think I have it figured out. I deactivated the syncing to Google Photos. Now when I take pictures on my phone, I see the new pictures both in the Gallery app and Google Photos app on my phone. The new pictures in the Google Photos app don't have the small cloud icon in the bottom right corner, indicating they have not been synced to the cloud. In this case, I have two options. I can select those new photos in the Google Photos app and initiate a Cloud Backup, or select those photos in the Samsung Gallery app and select "Share -> Upload to Google Photos". Either option will store my new photos in the Cloud. At that point, I can delete photos in Google Photos or in Samsung Gallery independently from each other. I just have to remember to manually backup or upload my photos to the Cloud.

 

[B. Diddy]

That should work for you, but it also seems a bit unnecessarily complicated. Since Google Photos and Google Drive storage all come from the same storage bucket, and since Google Photos is more specifically designed for photo storage, why not backup the photos to Google Photos instead? If you only want a few select photos to remain on local storage, then you can always do a Free Up Space command to automatically delete all locally saved photos that Google Photos knows have been backed up safely, then go back to those photos you want back on the phone's local storage and Download them.

I would also say that the 2-way sync that you're referring to has always been the case -- so if you tap the Delete button in the Google Photos app (the one with the trashcan icon), that deletes the photo everywhere (i.e., from your cloud as well as the local storage). There's always been the "Delete from Device" option that will only delete the photo from the local storage but keep it in the cloud -- it's just a bit hidden in the additional menu.

 

[monsieurms]

Thanks for the comments and feedback.


My use case is this:


I take photos with my phone, and I want all photos to be automatically backed up to a cloud service (in my case, Google Drive). I usually only want a few select photos on my phone, so I delete all the ones that I don't want on my phone using the Samsung Gallery app. So, all of my photos are in the cloud, and only a select few are kept on my phone. Also, I may want to keep a photo on my phone but I don't want it stored in the cloud. So, I delete that photo using the Google Photos app on my phone from the cloud storage and it still remains on my phone.


This is how I've been operating for 5+ years when using a Samsung phone. It isn't until very recently that I'm seeing a 2-way syncing of photos between Google Photos and my local Samsung storage. Maybe something has changed with Google Photos and Google Drive that I'm not aware of?

There is a third party app called Auto sync for Google Drive, DriveSync for short; the corresponding partner for OneDrive is called OneSync. It is a paid app, but it is not that expensive.

Autosync for Google Drive - Apps on Google Play

Automatic file sync and backup tool for Google Drive cloud storage

play.google.com

I really love this app because it gives you total control over how you upload and download things to your phone to/from the cloud. You have no problem, for example, telling it to upload things from a particular folder on your phone and then delete them from your phone. I do that with Instagram copy photos all the time and they are kept in my desktop computer's folder labeled "Instagram" after being cleared from my phone.

There are many other possible options and choices. It does take a little get-up-to-speed time, but it is amazing how this completely empowers you. At this point, like a lot of us, I have files syncing from everywhere and downloading here and there, and this lets me control it on my devices perfectly.

 

[kikbxr1969]

There is a third party app called Auto sync for Google Drive, DriveSync for short; the corresponding partner for OneDrive is called OneSync. It is a paid app, but it is not that expensive.

Autosync for Google Drive - Apps on Google Play

Automatic file sync and backup tool for Google Drive cloud storage

play.google.com

I really love this app because it gives you total control over how you upload and download things to your phone to/from the cloud. You have no problem, for example, telling it to upload things from a particular folder on your phone and then delete them from your phone. I do that with Instagram copy photos all the time and they are kept in my desktop computers folder labeled Instagram after being cleared from my phone.

There are many other possible options and choices. It does take a little get-up-to-speed time, but it is amazing how this completely empowers you. At this point, like a lot of us, I have files syncing from everywhere and downloading here and there, and this lets me control it on my devices perfectly.

Came here to recommend just this. The fact that many of the stock cloud syncing services don't realize that a user may prefer to only have one way back ups is just ludicrous. Thankfully, third party apps are available to take up the slack.

I use Folder Sync Pro. This app syncs more than just photos, and allows me to sync to my NAS when local or over VPN as well as any cloud service if I want. I can go one way from my phone to the network, 2 way, or one way from the network to my phone.

 

[monsieurms]

I use Folder Sync Pro. This app syncs more than just photos, .

There are so many advantages to using these third-party sync apps. I don't know that one, but yes mine also lets you sync more than photos. In fact I would say my most important use for it is organizing documents.