It’s a common question for Google Photos users: “How Do I Remove Photos From Google Photos without deleting them from my phone?” You might want to free up cloud storage or simply declutter your Google Photos library while keeping your precious memories safe on your device. This guide provides a clear, step-by-step process to remove photos from Google Photos while ensuring they remain on your phone or tablet.
To successfully remove photos from Google Photos but not your device, you need to manage your Google Photos settings carefully. The key is to first turn off backup on any device where you want to keep the photos. This prevents Google Photos from syncing changes and deleting the local copies when you remove them from the cloud.
Here’s how to do it:
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Access Google Photos on the Web: On your computer, open your web browser and go to photos.google.com/login. This is crucial because deleting photos directly within the Google Photos website interface gives you more control over what’s removed from the cloud versus your device.
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Delete Photos from Google Photos: Once logged in, select and delete the photos and videos you wish to remove from your Google Photos account. Remember, you are doing this on the website, not the app on your phone.
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Wait and Verify on Your Device: After deleting the photos from the website, wait for a few minutes and ensure your phone or tablet is connected to Wi-Fi. Then, close and reopen the Google Photos app on your device.
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Check Backup Status: To confirm that the photos are indeed removed from Google Photos but still present locally, tap on a photo in your Google Photos app. Tap “More” . Scroll down to “Details”. If it shows “Backed up,” it might still be linked to Google Photos. If backup is off, it should indicate that these are now just local copies.
Important Considerations:
- Backup Benefits: When you turn off backup, you lose the advantages of automatic cloud backup, such as syncing across devices and online access if your device is lost or damaged. Learn more about Google Photos backup benefits.
- Re-enabling Backup: If you decide to turn backup back on later, be aware that sometimes the photos you deleted from Google Photos might be re-backed up if they are still on your device. Similarly, in some cases, your local device copies might be deleted if Google Photos syncs the deletion when backup is re-enabled. Learn how to turn Google Photos backup on again.
By following these steps, you can effectively manage your photos, removing them from Google Photos while safely keeping them on your devices. This method provides you with the control to curate your cloud storage without losing your local photo collection.
