Unlimited Photos backup feature

[eric002]

So in Google photos, i know that there's a special feature for Nexus users for unlimited backup however it says online at android.com that you have to have the backup & sync option turned on. lI tried to call Google about this but the rep just didn't understand what i was saying. The reason i ask this is because i have separate albums for different kinds of photos and i like to keep everything well organized just like everyone else does. Thanks for any help, i appreciate it.

 

[SpookDroid]

Hi there. I don't think the 'Free Unlimited Full Backup' feature is active yet. It's been hinted at and I think found in code, but it's not live, and it only applies (apparently) to pictures taken and uploaded with your Nexus, so even though you may soon have that active for your Google Account, using that account in a different, non-Nexus device might mean those will not be 'free and unlimited' if backed up in full resolution.

Now, as for the Sync option, yes, it must be active for Google Photos to start backing up your pictures. As of now, however, you should only be able to select 'Free' unlimited backup (not in full resolution, as pictures beyond 12MP I believe will be compressed) or Full Quality back up, which would count against your Drive storage quota. Once the feature goes live, you should be able to select the latter option in your Nexus without it counting against your quota, BUT the Sync switch on your phone still needs to be active for the app to automatically back up your pictures. You can, of course, always manually force sync from the app if you choose to keep the 'global' Sync switch off, just don't forget to do it often or you might have a bunch of pictures without a cloud backup.

 

[eric002]

Hi there. I don't think the 'Free Unlimited Full Backup' feature is active yet. It's been hinted at and I think found in code, but it's not live, and it only applies (apparently) to pictures taken and uploaded with your Nexus, so even though you may soon have that active for your Google Account, using that account in a different, non-Nexus device might mean those will not be 'free and unlimited' if backed up in full resolution.

Now, as for the Sync option, yes, it must be active for Google Photos to start backing up your pictures. As of now, however, you should only be able to select 'Free' unlimited backup (not in full resolution, as pictures beyond 12MP I believe will be compressed) or Full Quality back up, which would count against your Drive storage quota. Once the feature goes live, you should be able to select the latter option in your Nexus without it counting against your quota, BUT the Sync switch on your phone still needs to be active for the app to automatically back up your pictures. You can, of course, always manually force sync from the app if you choose to keep the 'global' Sync switch off, just don't forget to do it often or you might have a bunch of pictures without a cloud backup.

ok, i sort of understand what you're saying. i mean in my google photos, i do upload but i upload to albums manually all of them time to keep everything nice and organize, and categorized. that's what i'm really asking. i have the "upload &Sync" option turned off currently so even when the "UNLIMITED"feature becomes available will i have to turn the "Backup&sync" Option on? I hope i am explaining this currently. sorry if i'm not...

 

[SpookDroid]

It would work exactly the same way you're doing it right now. The Sync option is for automatic back ups. If you don't have that active, you need to manually force the sync. Once you get the unlimited feature, you'll be uploading in full quality, that's all.

Also, may I suggest you don't worry about stopping the automatic upload and just create the albums later in Photos? Doing so will not create duplicates, and will assure that all your pictures are safe in case something like this happens (see point 5):
Five things I learned traveling with the Galaxy S7 edge | Android Central

 

[eric002]

It would work exactly the same way you're doing it right now. The Sync option is for automatic back ups. If you don't have that active, you need to manually force the sync. Once you get the unlimited feature, you'll be uploading in full quality, that's all.

Also, may I suggest you don't worry about stopping the automatic upload and just create the albums later in Photos? Doing so will not create duplicates, and will assure that all your pictures are safe in case something like this happens (see point 5):
Five things I learned traveling with the Galaxy S7 edge | Android Central

Yeah, i was thinking of htat but i take a lot of pictures on my phone as well and the only thing that i am worried about is having to filter through all of them later and them sort them all out. that's what it comes down to. i was thinking about just having the "Backup&Sync"Option left on. i've never done it before but i suppose i'm not totally against it. what does everyone here do that tries to organize all of their photos into albums in Google Photos?Thanks!

Again, turning the feature on you said won't create any duplicates of the existing pictures already on my phone though right?

 

[SpookDroid]

Yes, as long as you create the albums from Photos or on the web. If after the back up you move the original file to another folder in your phone with another app (like the Gallery or a File Manager) AND that folder is also set up to back up, THEN you'll have a duplicate, because even though the file name is the same, the path has changed, and to Photos, that makes it different.

I just let my camera pictures get uploaded on their own and then create the albums on the web. Super easy, and with the 'magical' search feature, it's even easier to find old pictures of anything. Just the other day I found an uncategorized picture of a lens I took 2 years ago. I just typed 'lens' in the search field, and BAM! There it was.

 

[eric002]

Mmm gotcha well, you know what, I think I'm going to have to try this. I've never Auto uploaded photos but hey it's worth a shot I can't say no because I've never tried it. Thanks for the suggestion. I guess I will have all the photos auto upload it then when I have time on my hands I'll sort them.

 

[SpookDroid]

Try it for a week. That way if you don't like that way of organizing, you don't have as many pictures there to manage back! What I personally do is just sync the Camera folder; all other folders I sync manually and only the pictures I want. That way all those duplicates from Instagram, Facebook, etc. don't go into my backup, just the original pictures. Then, in Photos (I like managing my albums on the web, it just feels easier) I select the pictures I want and create albums accordingly. Sure, you have a 'main landing' page with all the pictures (just like your Camera folder, unless you physically move the files elsewhere), but you also have a section with all your albums in place. What's great about this is that you can create 'selective' albums if you are going to share them with other people. For example, I just took a trip to Disneyland with a friend and her son. While I have all the pictures from that trip into a single album for myself, I took the same pictures but removed the ones that are just of me (I doubt my friend will want my selfies hehe), and from that I created another album to share with her. And that doesn't create duplicates of the files, just assigns different albums to the same picture. And again, once you try the search feature, it really is spooky (no pun intended) and awesome.

 

[eric002]

Okay, thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to try just that. I'm going to turn backup and sync option on and go from there. But I've also been doing is delete photo copy from phone to clean up device storage as well. Do you do that at all? Obviously it's one done and I have the picture both on the phone and the phone locally so I delete it on the phone. I might just try it out and organizing them on the web as well. Makes more sense I suppose I just never tried it no reason why I can't try something a little bit new. Thanks for your suggestions. I really appreciate it. So you're saying that when you go to the web then you go to the online Gallery all your camera roll photos are there and then you just start dragging it with the mouse cursor and putting them into albums from that point on?

 

[SpookDroid]

Yup, you are presented with a Gallery-like general page where all of your images are contained. From there, just like you would do on your phone, you select (you can do multiple selection by holding and dragging the mouse, just like you would tap and hold on your phone) the pictures you want and from there you can add to existing albums, create new ones, etc. Really easy!

Also, one thing that changed in Photos (and one that I personally hate!) is that whatever you delete from Photos, whether it's from the app or on the web, gets deleted from all your devices the image was synced to, including the original file. So, if you want to delete the local copy but keep the online back up, make sure you DON'T use the Photos app, but the stock Gallery (not sure if on a Nexus that's the Photos app or not) or a 3rd party app or file manager. What I used to do, and that's no longer possible is that I would take pictures for work that I wanted on my device but not on my cloud backup, so I would delete those from the cloud and just keep the original files in my phone... well, thank's to that little change, now that's not possible unless you move the original file to a non-synced folder in your phone and then delete the online copy. Frustrating

 

[mustang02]

I think it's already working. I've shot a few thousand photos this month without my a storage usage increasing.

 

[eric002]

So wait, if I'm understanding you correctly then if my photos are deleted off the phone itself, the cloud backup file would be deleted as well?

 

[LeoRex]

So wait, if I'm understanding you correctly then if my photos are deleted off the phone itself, the cloud backup file would be deleted as well?

No, the other way around. Deleting the cloud version will purge it from the phone... You can clean the phone any time, provided the pictures have been backed up.

 

[eric002]

No, the other way around. Deleting the cloud version will purge it from the phone... You can clean the phone any time, provided the pictures have been backed up.

Gotcha, thanks. Sounds good to me.

 

[SpookDroid]

BUT if you delete the original from your phone using the Photos app, THEN the cloud version is also purged. Only if you use the stock Gallery app to delete the original file will the back up remain.

 

[eric002]

Gotcha. Thanks starting to get used to it slowly.

 

[GSDer]

Only if you use the stock Gallery app

Stock Gallery app? There's no such thing on my Nexus 6P, at least not on the N beta. I certainly don't remember it on the original Marshmallow build.

 

[LeoRex]

BUT if you delete the original from your phone using the Photos app, THEN the cloud version is also purged. Only if you use the stock Gallery app to delete the original file will the back up remain.

There's a 'delete device copy' option when viewing the device folders in Photos. If you are in the main gallery, you'll get rid of all copies though.

 

[eric002]

yes that's the option that i always choose. Once all of my media (Pictures and Videos) are backedup to the cloud online, i delete the local device copy , free up storage space and it's a beautiful thing. I don't even have that many apps on my phone. I have a torrented movie on my phone, which will be deleted or moved to my external hard drive soon, that's about it. On these kinds of phones, there was never a "stock photos gallery" only Google Photos. Essentially the same exact setup that was on my Nexus 6 just newer software/hardware all around of course