How Can You Back Up Photos After Drive for Desktop Ends

Beginning August 10, 2026, Google Drive for desktop now not helps backing up images and movies from laptop folders on to Google Images. Customers who beforehand relied on this characteristic should now use Google Images’ personal “Again up folders” possibility or add their recordsdata manually. 

What precisely has modified?

Beforehand, Drive for desktop allowed customers to pick folders saved on a Home windows PC or Mac and allow “Again as much as Google Images.” Images and movies in these folders may then be routinely uploaded to Google Images.

Google started phasing out the characteristic in 2026:

• June 15, 2026: Customers may now not configure new Google Images backup folders by Drive for desktop.
• Present folder configurations continued to work briefly.
• August 10, 2026: Drive for desktop formally ended help for Google Images backup.

So, as of August 11, 2026, customers ought to now not rely on Drive for desktop to ship new images and movies to Google Images.

Are present Google Images backups secure?

Sure. Images and movies that had been already backed as much as Google Images are usually not being deleted due to this transformation. They continue to be within the consumer’s Google Images library. The change impacts future backup exercise by Drive for desktop, not beforehand uploaded content material.

There’s additionally an vital distinction:

Turning off or ending a folder backup doesn’t take away the images already saved in Google Images.

Google says present backed-up images stay in Google Images until the consumer individually deletes them.

What occurs to images nonetheless saved on a pc?

That is the vital half. If a consumer has images in a pc folder that haven’t but been uploaded to Google Images, Drive for desktop can now not be relied upon to routinely again them up. These customers want to maneuver the backup course of to Google Images.

proceed backing up laptop folders

Google now offers a Again up folders characteristic immediately by Google Images.

On a pc:

1. Open Google Images.
2. Go to images.google.com.
3. Click on Create / Add images within the upper-right space.
4. Choose Again up folders.
5. Select the folders containing the images and movies.
6. Give Google Images permission to entry the folders.
7. Permit the add course of to finish.

How Google Images Folder Backup Works Now 

The brand new Google Images folder backup is browser/web-app based mostly. Google says customers ought to preserve the Google Images tab open or have the Google Images Internet App working for background backup. If the browser tab is closed, recordsdata within the chosen folders won’t proceed backing up routinely. This is a vital element that shouldn’t be missed in an article as a result of it means the substitute doesn’t work precisely just like the previous Drive for desktop workflow.

Can customers manually add images?

Sure. Customers don’t must configure folder backup. They’ll manually add images and movies by Google Images. The present Google directions are:

Google Images → Create/Add images → Import images → choose recordsdata → Open.

Customers can even drag images from their laptop into an album in Google Images.

Will Google Images add duplicate images?

Google says that when a folder is added for backup, it makes an attempt to add the folder’s contents, however content material that has already been uploaded usually gained’t be uploaded once more. Nonetheless, Google notes that content material that was beforehand uploaded however later edited or deleted whereas backed up could also be uploaded once more. That makes it helpful to confirm the backup relatively than merely assuming every little thing transferred appropriately.

test whether or not your images are backed up

Google Images offers a number of methods to confirm the standing.

Test the general backup standing

Open Google Images in your laptop and take a look at the backup standing on the prime of the library.

Potential statuses embrace:

• Getting ready backup
• Backing up images
• Backup full
• Backup paused
• No backup

Test a person picture

You may as well open a selected picture or video and choose Data. Below Backed up, Google Images shows the backup standing and file dimension. That is notably helpful after shifting from Drive for desktop to Google Images.

Are smartphone customers affected?

Not by this specific change. Google Images’ regular cell backup continues to function. Images and movies backed up by the Google Images app on Android or iPhone are usually not affected by the retirement of the Drive for desktop route. Google’s present assist documentation continues to offer separate backup controls for cell gadgets and gadget folders.

What about Google Drive itself?

Google Drive for desktop shouldn’t be shutting down. The change is particularly concerning the connection between Drive for desktop and Google Images backup. Drive for desktop continues to offer its regular file-syncing and file-access capabilities. Google is separating these capabilities from picture backup and directing customers towards Google Images for picture administration.

What about Google Drive recordsdata?

One other vital distinction is {that a} picture saved in Google Drive shouldn’t be routinely the identical factor as a photograph backed as much as Google Images. After August 10, Google says customers who wish to proceed backing up folders ought to use Google Images. Google additionally notes that customers can add images and movies from Google Drive to Google Images the place relevant.

Subsequently, customers mustn’t assume:

“My images are in Google Drive, so Google Images is routinely backing them up.”

These are separate companies and storage areas.

Does the change have an effect on Google storage?

Probably, sure. Google Account storage is shared amongst companies together with Google Drive, Google Images and Gmail. If the account reaches its storage restrict, new images and movies can’t be backed up till the consumer frees house or obtains extra storage.

Google Images at the moment affords two most important backup-quality choices:

• Unique high quality: Images and movies retain their authentic decision and depend towards storage.
• Storage saver: Information are compressed to make use of much less storage.

For folks shifting a big laptop library to Google Images, checking accessible Google Account storage earlier than beginning a significant add is subsequently vital.

Google Images file limits

Google’s present laptop backup documentation says:

• Images will be as much as 200 MB or 200 MP
• Movies will be as much as 10 GB
• Information have to be bigger than 256 × 256
• Google Images helps widespread codecs comparable to JPG, HEIC, HEIF, PNG, WEBP, GIF, AVIF and lots of RAW codecs.

Google lists quite a few supported video codecs as properly, together with MP4, MOV, MKV, MTS, M2TS and others.

One limitation for Mac customers

There is a vital limitation with the brand new browser-based folder backup. Google says the Apple Images Library shouldn’t be supported when backing up folders by photos.google.com. For Apple Images Library content material, Google recommends utilizing the Google Images app on an iPhone or iPad as a substitute.

Test Your Google Images Backup 

For those who beforehand used Drive for desktop for Google Images backups, the most secure guidelines is:

1. Open Google Images.
2. Test whether or not latest laptop images are showing.
3. Test the backup standing.
4. Choose Again up folders and add the pc folders you continue to want to guard.
5. Maintain the Google Images tab open or run the Images Internet App whereas backup is going down.
6. Test particular person images to substantiate they present as backed up.
7. Test accessible Google Account storage.
8. Maintain a separate native or exterior backup of vital images.

The final level is especially vital for irreplaceable images. Cloud storage ought to ideally not be the one copy of vital recollections.

Google Images and Google Drive are usually not going away. The change solely impacts how laptop folders are backed as much as Google Images. For those who use Drive for desktop, change to Again up folders in Google Images and preserve the browser tab or Internet App working to make sure new images proceed importing. 

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