Question There are pictures in the Gallery that are not mine

[talicni67]

I have had a problem for a long time that I cannot solve. I keep seeing pictures in my gallery that I didn't take. It is mostly related to PC and Nintendo games. Screen shots, various lists, pictures of joypads, etc. I don't know who it belongs to. When I delete them, they reappear within a day or two. Not the same, but with the same theme. I reset the phone and nothing changed, only I didn't try the factory reset. Has anyone had this experience and if so, how do I get rid of this?

 

[SpookDroid]

Where are the pictures stored (i.e. the filepath)? They may be downloads from an app, like temp browser image cache or a game's ad downloads. If you're syncing your media, are there any other accounts added to the phone? If you go to the account that's syncing the folders, do those pictures appear also in the online backup or just your phone?

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! I agree with SpookDroid. To get a better idea of what's responsible, go to the gallery app and open any of those images, then look at the Details or More Info option for the image. It should give you the directory pathname where the image is located. Let us know what you find.

 

[AdrianBaw]

If you're finding unfamiliar photos in your gallery, especially related to PC and Nintendo games, it's likely due to automatic syncing from other devices or services. Here are steps to help resolve the issue:

First, check the settings of apps like Google Photos or Dropbox for any auto-sync options that might be bringing in these images.

Ensure your phone isn't connected to other devices that could be syncing screenshots or other images. As a last resort, you might need to perform a factory reset, but be sure to back up important data beforehand.

 

[B. Diddy]

If you're finding unfamiliar photos in your gallery, especially related to PC and Nintendo games, it's likely due to automatic syncing from other devices or services. Here are steps to help resolve the issue:

First, check the settings of apps like Google Photos or Dropbox for any auto-sync options that might be bringing in these images.

Ensure your phone isn't connected to other devices that could be syncing screenshots or other images. As a last resort, you might need to perform a factory reset, but be sure to back up important data beforehand.

Thanks for the input, but I doubt this is the reason. It's most commonly related to apps that are already installed on the phone that are caching images (like, as SpookDroid mentioned, ad images). If the directory where the app is caching images does not include a ".nomedia" file, then those images will be included in the Gallery app when the system scans the storage for any new media.

The directory pathname where the unknown images are stored is the biggest clue. You can typically get an idea of which app is responsible that way.

 

[mustang7757]

I have had a problem for a long time that I cannot solve. I keep seeing pictures in my gallery that I didn't take. It is mostly related to PC and Nintendo games. Screen shots, various lists, pictures of joypads, etc. I don't know who it belongs to. When I delete them, they reappear within a day or two. Not the same, but with the same theme. I reset the phone and nothing changed, only I didn't try the factory reset. Has anyone had this experience and if so, how do I get rid of this?

Welcome to AC!
Which device do you have?