How to Set Up Google Photos to Automatically Back Up Your Photos

Every photo on your phone exists in one place: your phone. If that phone is lost, stolen, damaged, or replaced, those photos can vanish forever. Google Photos solves this problem by automatically copying every photo to the internet (called "the cloud") as soon as you take it.

Once backup is on, your photos are safe even if something happens to your phone. You can also view them from any other device — a tablet, a computer, even a friend's phone — by signing in to your Google account.

This guide works whether you have an iPhone or an Android phone.

## What You Need Before You Start

• A Google account (a Gmail address). If you do not have one, you can create one free at gmail.com.
• The Google Photos app on your phone. iPhones do not come with it pre-installed. So you may need to download it. Android phones often include it.
• A Wi-Fi connection at home. Backup happens automatically on Wi-Fi so it does not eat up your phone data plan.

## Understanding Free Storage

Google gives everyone 15 gigabytes (GB) of free storage — shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. That sounds like a lot, and for most people it is. Roughly speaking, 15 GB holds around 4,000 to 5,000 photos taken at typical phone quality.

When you set up backup, you will choose "Storage Saver" quality (formerly called "High Quality"). This slightly reduces the size of very large photos in a way that is invisible to the naked eye. And it is the free option. "Original Quality" keeps photos exactly as your camera captured them. But it counts fully toward your 15 GB limit and fills up faster.

## Downloading the App (iPhone)

1. 1Open the blue App Store icon on your iPhone.
2. 2Tap the Search tab at the bottom.
3. 3Type "Google Photos" and tap Search.
4. 4Find the app with the colorful pinwheel icon and Google's name. Tap "Get" and follow the prompts.
5. 5Once installed, tap "Open."

On Android, open the Play Store, search for "Google Photos," and install it the same way. Many Android phones already have it installed — look for the pinwheel icon in your app list first.

## Signing In

When Google Photos opens, tap "Sign in." Enter your Gmail address and password. If you do not have a Gmail account, tap "Create account" and follow the steps. It takes about 5 minutes.

After signing in, Google Photos will ask permission to access your photos. Tap "Allow" or "Allow Access to All Photos." Without this, the app cannot back anything up.

## Turning On Backup

1. 1Once signed in, tap your profile picture in the upper-right corner (it may show your initial letter if you have no photo).
2. 2Tap "Photo settings."
3. 3Tap "Backup."
4. 4Tap the switch next to "Backup" to turn it on. The switch should turn blue.
5. 5Under "Backup quality," select "Storage Saver" to use your free 15 GB. Select "Original quality" only if you are a paying Google One member.
6. 6Leave "Back up over Wi-Fi only" turned on. This prevents the app from using your cellular data.

The app will now start uploading your existing photos in the background. This first backup can take several hours if you have many photos. Leave your phone plugged in and on Wi-Fi overnight and let it run.

## How to Confirm Backup Is Working

Open Google Photos. Tap your profile picture, then tap "Photo settings," then "Backup." You will see one of these messages:

• "Backup is on" and "Backup is complete" — everything is saved.
• "Backup is on" with a number like "Uploading 243 items" — still working, that is fine.
• "Backup is off" — tap the switch to turn it back on.
• "Storage is full" — you need to free up space or buy more storage.

## Viewing Photos on Other Devices

On a computer, go to photos.google.com and sign in with the same Gmail address. Every backed-up photo will be there.

On another phone or tablet, install Google Photos, sign in with your Gmail address, and your photos will appear.