Google Photos is a fantastic service for backing up, organizing, and sharing your precious photos and videos. Praised by The Verge as “The best photo product on Earth” and Wired as “your new essential picture app”, it offers a seamless experience for managing your visual memories. You might be wondering, “How Can I Download Photos From Google Photos?” Whether you want to save a single image, multiple memories, or your entire library, this guide will walk you through the simple steps to download your photos from Google Photos to your devices.
Google Photos provides a generous 15 GB of free cloud storage with every Google Account, ensuring your photos are safe, secure, and private. It’s a great way to free up space on your phone and access your memories from any device. While Google Photos excels at cloud storage and online access, there are times when you need to download your photos for offline use, backup to a local drive, or for other purposes. Fortunately, Google Photos makes downloading your photos straightforward.
Downloading a Single Photo from Google Photos
If you need just one or a few specific photos, downloading them individually is the quickest method. Here’s how to download a single photo using both the web interface and the mobile app:
On Your Computer (Web Browser)
- Open Google Photos: Go to the Google Photos website (photos.google.com) and sign in to your Google account.
- Select the Photo: Find the photo you wish to download and click on it to open it in viewing mode.
- Open the Options Menu: Look for the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the screen. Click on this menu icon to reveal more options.
- Choose “Download”: From the dropdown menu, select “Download”. Your photo will be downloaded to your computer’s default download location.
On Your Mobile Device (Android or iOS)
- Open the Google Photos App: Launch the Google Photos app on your Android phone or iPhone.
- Find the Photo: Navigate to the photo you want to download. You can scroll through your main photo stream or browse albums.
- Open the Photo: Tap on the photo to view it full screen.
- Tap the Three Dots: Similar to the web interface, tap the three vertical dots located at the top right corner of the screen.
- Select “Download”: Choose “Download” from the menu. The photo will be saved to your device’s local storage, typically in the “Downloads” folder or a designated “Google Photos” album in your gallery app.
Downloading Multiple Photos from Google Photos
Downloading photos one by one can be tedious if you want to save a batch of images. Google Photos allows you to select and download multiple photos at once, saving you considerable time.
On Your Computer (Web Browser)
- Open Google Photos: Go to photos.google.com and log in.
- Enter Selection Mode: Hover your mouse over a photo you want to download. A checkmark will appear in the top-left corner. Click on the checkmark to select the photo. You can also press and hold the Shift key while clicking to select a range of photos, or Ctrl/Cmd key to select individual photos.
- Select Multiple Photos: Continue clicking on the checkmarks of all the photos you wish to download.
- Open Options Menu: Once you have selected all desired photos, click the three dots menu at the top right corner.
- Choose “Download”: Select “Download”. Google Photos will compress your selected photos into a ZIP file, which will then be downloaded to your computer. You will need to unzip this file to access your photos.
On Your Mobile Device (Android or iOS)
- Open Google Photos App: Open the app on your phone or tablet.
- Enter Selection Mode: Long-press on the first photo you want to download. A checkmark will appear, indicating you are in selection mode.
- Select Multiple Photos: Tap on other photos you wish to download to select them.
- Tap the Share Icon, then More Options: After selecting photos, tap the share icon (↑) at the bottom left. In the share sheet, scroll horizontally to “More” or the three dots “More” option.
- Choose “Download”: Select “Download”. The selected photos will be downloaded to your device’s storage.
Downloading an Entire Album from Google Photos
If you have organized your photos into albums, downloading an entire album is a convenient way to save a collection of memories.
On Your Computer (Web Browser)
- Go to “Albums”: In Google Photos on your browser, click on “Albums” in the left-hand menu.
- Open the Album: Select the album you want to download by clicking on it.
- Open Options Menu: Click the three dots menu in the top right corner of the album view.
- Choose “Download all”: Select “Download all” from the menu. Google Photos will create a ZIP file of the entire album and download it to your computer.
On Your Mobile Device (Android or iOS)
Downloading entire albums directly isn’t a feature readily available within the Google Photos mobile app in the same way as on the web. The best approach on mobile for an entire album is often to select multiple photos within the album as described in the previous section for downloading multiple photos. Alternatively, you can use Google Takeout for a more comprehensive download, as described below.
Downloading All Photos from Google Photos (Using Google Takeout)
For users wanting to download their entire Google Photos library, Google Takeout is the most comprehensive solution. This method allows you to export all your photos and videos in their original quality.
- Go to Google Takeout: Open your web browser and go to Google Takeout (takeout.google.com).
- Select Google Photos: You may see many Google services listed. Click “Deselect all” to uncheck all services, and then scroll down and check the box next to “Google Photos”.
- Choose Albums (Optional): By default, Takeout will export all albums. If you want to download specific albums, click “All photo albums included”. You can then choose to download specific albums or keep all selected.
- Customize Export Settings (Optional but Recommended): Click “Multiple formats”. Here you can customize the format of your downloads, such as choosing JSON files for metadata.
- Click “Next Step”: After selecting Google Photos and customizing settings, click the “Next step” button.
- Choose Delivery Method: Select your preferred delivery method. “Send download link via email” is the most common option. You can also choose to add to Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Box.
- Choose Export Frequency, File Type & Size: Select whether you want to export once or schedule regular exports. Choose the file type (.zip or .tgz) and the archive size (smaller sizes will result in multiple smaller files).
- Click “Create Export”: Click the “Create export” button. Google will begin preparing your export, which may take hours or even days depending on the size of your library. You will receive an email with a download link when it’s ready.
- Download Your Photos: Once you receive the email, click the download link. You may be prompted to download multiple ZIP files if your library is large. Download all parts and unzip them to access your complete Google Photos library.
Conclusion
Downloading your photos from Google Photos is a simple process, whether you need a single image or your entire collection. By following these steps, you can easily save your precious memories to your computer or mobile devices for safekeeping, offline access, or any other need. Google Photos remains a powerful tool for managing your photos, and knowing how to download them gives you greater control over your visual content. Remember to regularly back up your downloaded photos to ensure you have multiple copies of your valuable memories.
