Google is testing a new feature that could help clean up online storage and prevent accidental photo … [+]
A powerful new Google Photos feature could be arriving soon that will not only help prevent users from accidentally deleting photos, but also save a huge amount of time when it comes to managing cloud storage quotas.
December 9th Update: I’ve added a method for removing individual photos and videos from your Google Photos backup while keeping them on your local device—use at your own risk!
As discovered by the prolific Android investigator, Assemble Debug, the latest version (6.87) of the Google Photos Android app contains code for a new option called “Undo backup for this device.” As its name suggests, selecting this option will remove all photos and videos backed up from the current device to Google Photos in the cloud, but crucially without removing any copies stored locally.
Google Photos Undo Backup For This Device: Why Is It Necessary?
This is a much-needed upgrade because, without this feature, any images the user manually deletes from Google Photos online are also automatically deleted locally on all synced devices. This can lead to users inadvertently deleting all copies of their images when they intended only to remove the copies backed up on Google’s servers online. Users may wish to do this for privacy reasons or, more likely, to recover capacity from their online storage quotas.
Google Photos likes to remind you, repeatedly, to turn on backup.
If automatic backup isn’t turned on in Google Photos, recent versions of the app will repeatedly prompt users to enable it. Unfortunately, the only way to prevent these nagging prompts from returning is to turn on automatic backup. Any users tempted to try it out could then find themselves unexpectedly uploading a large quantity of photos and video, consuming significant amounts of data and storage space.
Unfortunately, reversing the process is difficult and time-consuming. Simply turning backup off won’t remove any pictures from cloud storage that have already been backed up, and in order to do so, local copies of the pictures need to be backed up somewhere else before removing them from Google Photos as deleting them from the cloud will also delete the copies on your local device. I’ve seen several Reddit posts from users who have fallen foul of this restriction and permanently lost significant numbers of important photos and videos in the process.
This new “Undo backup for this device” option would provide a simple, and very much needed, way to reverse the backup procedure and take you back to where you started, without deleting any pictures stored on your smartphone.
The discovered Google Photos code fragments include the following text:
- string name=”photos_backup_settings_cod_category” – “Undo backup for this device”
and
- string name=”photos_backup_settings_cod_summary” – “Delete all backed-up photos and videos from this device in Google Photos, without deleting anything from your device”
As an unreleased feature, Undo Backup For This Device isn’t currently enabled in the app, and there’s no guarantee it ever will. However, the presence of the code and the importance of the feature suggest that it will roll out to users soon. For extra security, I recommend using Google Takeout periodically to download and keep a copy of any important photos and videos you have stored in Google Photos.
December 9th Update:
How To Remove Individual Photos And Videos From Google Photos Online But Keep Them On Your Device
One way to remove individual images from your online Google Photos backup while keeping them on your local device is to use the Google Photos Locked Folder feature. The method is a little clunky, so be careful and try it with some unimportant images first, as I won’t be responsible for any accidental deletions.
The Locked Folder is designed primarily for hiding sensitive or personal photos and videos by securely encrypting them. If your Locked Folder is backed up, its contents will count towards your storage quota.
However, Locked Folder backup can be turned on and off independently from your main Google Photos backup. If your Locked Folder isn’t backed up, any pictures and videos you move into it will be removed from Google’s cloud servers and stored only on your local device.
If your Locked Folder isn’t backed up, you can move any photos or videos you want into it to remove them from your online backup and keep them stored on your device.
You can then return any Locked Folder items to your photo library at any time. If you don’t turn on automatic backup for Google Photos, they will remain only on your local device.
Limitations
- There are some important limitations to this method.
- Images in the Locked Folder remain hidden and won’t appear when you scroll through Google Photos or other apps.
- You can’t share images directly from the Locked Folder. You can only look at them, delete them or move them back into your main Google Photos library.
- As with all images that aren’t backed up in the cloud, if you lose or damage your device, you may permanently lose your Locked Folder pictures, too.
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