Back up photos & videos

You can automatically save your photos and videos to your Google Account when you turn on backup. You can access your saved photos and videos from any device you’re signed into, but only you can find them unless you choose to share them. You can back up photos and videos to only one Google Account at a time. Learn how to fix backup issues.

Before you get started

What you need to back up photos & videos

Important: Your Google Account storage is shared across multiple products like Google Photos, Google Drive, and Gmail. If you've used all of your storage, you can either buy more storage or clean up your storage space.

  • Good internet connection.
  • File sizes that can be backed up:
    • Photos up to 200 MB or 200 MP.
    • Videos up to 10 GB.
    • Items must be larger than 256 x 256.
  • File types that can be backed up:
    • Photos: .jpg, .heic, .png, .webp, .gif, .avif, and most RAW files.
    • Videos: .mpg, .mod, .mmv, .tod, .wmv, .asf, .avi, .divx, .mov, .m4v, .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .m2t, .m2ts, .mts, and .mkv files.
  • File formats that can be backed up:
    • 10-bit HDR videos.
    • Topshot (Pixel only).
    • Slow-mo.
    • Depth videos.
    • Motion photos.
    • Live photos when you use the Google Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.

If you try to back up a file type not listed here, it may not work with Google Photos.

Types of RAW files you can back up
Canon
EOS-1D X Mark III, EOS-1D X Mark II, EOS-1D X, EOS-1Ds Mark III, EOS-1Ds Mark II, EOS-1D Mark IV, EOS-1D Mark III, EOS-1D Mark II, EOS-1D C, EOS-1D Mark II N, EOS 5D Mark IV, EOS 5D Mark III, EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 5D, EOS 5Ds, EOS 5Ds R, EOS R5, EOS 6D Mark II, EOS 6D, EOS R6, EOS R, EOS Ra, EOS RP, EOS 7D Mark II, EOS 7D, EOS 90D, EOS 80D, EOS 70D, EOS 60D, EOS 60Da, EOS 50D, EOS 40D, EOS 30D, EOS 20D, EOS 20Da, EOS 9000D (EOS 77D), EOS 8000D (EOS REBEL T6S/EOS 760D), EOS Kiss X10i (EOS REBEL T8i/EOS 850D), EOS Kiss X9i (EOS REBEL T7i/EOS 800D), EOS Kiss X8i (EOS REBEL T6i/EOS 750D), EOS Kiss X7i (EOS REBEL T5i/EOS 700D), EOS Kiss X6i (EOS REBEL T4i/EOS 650D), EOS Kiss X10 (EOS REBEL SL3/EOS 250D/EOS 200D II), EOS Kiss X9 (EOS REBEL SL2/EOS 200D), EOS Kiss X7 (EOS REBEL SL1/EOS 100D), EOS Kiss X5 (EOS REBEL T3i/EOS 600D), EOS Kiss X4 (EOS REBEL T2i/EOS 550D), EOS Kiss X3 (EOS REBEL T1i/EOS 500D), EOS Kiss X2 (EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi/EOS 450D), EOS Kiss X90 (EOS REBEL T7/EOS 2000D/EOS 1500D), EOS Kiss X80 (EOS REBEL T6/EOS 1300D), EOS Kiss X70 (EOS REBEL T5/EOS 1200D), EOS Kiss X50 (EOS REBEL T3/EOS 1100D), EOS Kiss F (EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS/EOS 1000D), EOS Kiss Digital X (EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi/EOS 400D DIGITAL), EOS Kiss Digital N (EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT/EOS 350D DIGITAL), EOS Kiss M (EOS M50), EOS M6 Mark II, EOS M6, EOS M5, EOS M3, EOS M2, EOS M, EOS M10, EOS M200, EOS M100, PowerShot G9 X Mark II, PowerShot G9 X, PowerShot G7 X Mark III, PowerShot G7 X Mark II, PowerShot G7 X, PowerShot G5 X Mark II, PowerShot G5 X, PowerShot G3 X, PowerShot G1 X Mark III, PowerShot G1 X Mark II, PowerShot G1 X, PowerShot G16, PowerShot G15, PowerShot G12, PowerShot G11, PowerShot G10, PowerShot S120, PowerShot S110, PowerShot S100, PowerShot S95, PowerShot S90, PowerShot SX70 HS, PowerShot SX60 HS, PowerShot SX50 HS, PowerShot SX1 IS
Fuji
X100
Nikon
1AW1, 1J1, 1J2, 1J3, 1J4, 1S1, 1S2, 1V1, 1V2, 1V3, D3, D3X, D4, D4S, D40, D40X, D50, D60, D70, D70s, D80, D90, D200, D300, D300s, D600, D610, D700, D750, D800, D800E, D810, D3000, D3100, D3200, D3300, D5000, D5100, D5200, D5300, D5500, D7000, D7100, D7200, Df
Coolpix: A, P7800
Olympus
E-M1, E-M5, E-M10, E-P1, E-P2, E-P3, E-P5, E-PL3, E-PL5, E-PL7, OM-D E-M5 Mark II
Panasonic
CM1, FZ300, G70, GF1, GF3, GF5, GF7, GH3, GH4, GM1, GM5, GX1, GX8, LX5, LX7, LX100
Sony
A7, A7R, A7S, A7 Mark II, A55, A58, A65, A77, A77 Mark II, A99, A700, A3000, A5000, A5100, A6000, QX1, NEX-5, NEX-5N, NEX-5R, NEX-6, NEX-7, NEX-C3, NEX-F3, RX1, RX1R, RX10, RX10 Mark II, RX100, RX100 Mark II, RX100 Mark III, RX100 Mark IV
DNG files
Most .dng formats

Turn backup on or off

Important: It can take a while to complete a backup, depending on your internet connection, size of your uploads, and other conditions. Keep the Photos app open and your phone plugged in for best results.

  1. Open the Google Photos app Photos.
  2. Sign in to your Google Account.
  3. At the top right, tap your Profile picture or Initial.
  4. Tap the Google Photos settings Settings and then Backup.
  5. Turn Backup on or off.

Turn Backup on or off

If you get a message asking to allow the app to access your photos:

  1. Open the iOS settings app and tap Privacy and then Photos.
  2. Turn on Google Photos.

Check if backup is complete

  1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Google Photos app Photos.
  2. Sign in to your Google Account.
  3. At the top right, tap your Profile picture or Initial.
  4. The progress of your backup is measured by how many items remain to upload.
    • When your items finish backing up, your status reads "Backup complete."
    • If your backup status is off, your status reads "Backup is off."

Manually back up photos & videos

  1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Google Photos app Photos.
  2. Sign in to your Google Account.
  3. Select with a long press the photos or videos you want to back up.
  4. At the bottom, select Back up .

Check a photo or video's backup status

  1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Google Photos app Photos.
  2. Tap a photo or video.
  3. Tap More More.
  4. Scroll to “Details.”
  5. If the photo is backed up, the backup status and size displays beneath Backed up Cloud done.

Check a photo or video’s backup status from your Photos view

You can find a photo or video's backup status from your photos view. How you check an item's backup status depends on whether your backup is turned on or off.

If backup is on

If backup is on for at least one of the Google accounts you’re logged into in Google Photos, you can check a photo’s backup status:

  • Empty thumbnail: Item is backed up.
  • Uploading : Item is in the process of being backed up.
  • In Queue or Paused : Item isn’t currently backing up but it will eventually.
  • Cloud slash : Item isn’t backed up, and backup isn’t pending.
  • Permanent failure : Item permanently failed.
Tip: Items that were recently backed up only show Cloud check for 3 seconds. After that, the backed up photo shows an empty thumbnail.
If backup is off

If backup is off for all of the Google accounts you’re logged into in Google Photos, you can check a photo’s backup status:

  • Empty thumbnail: Item isn’t backed up.
  • Cloud check : Item is backed up.
  • Uploading : Item is in the process of being backed up.
  • In Queue or Paused : Item isn’t currently backing up but it will eventually.
  • Permanent failure : Item permanently failed.

Learn what happens when you back up your photos

If you have backup turned on:

  • Never lose a memory: Any photos you take from a device with backup turned on are saved to your Google Account.

If you’ve backed up your content manually or automatically:

  • Automatic sync: You can access any photos you take and any edits you make to them on any device you sign in to. If you edit and save a photo on your phone, the photo looks the same on Google Photos.
  • Fast and powerful search: You can search your photos by the people in them when you turn on Face Groups. You can also search by places and things in the photos. No tagging is required.
  • Automatic creations: With automatically created highlight videos, collages, animations, and panoramas, you can bring your photos to life.

Remove backed up photos & videos from Google Photos

  1. On your iPhone or iPad, in the Google Photos app, turn off backup.
    • Turn off backup on devices where you want the photo or video to stay.
  2. On your computer or in your mobile browser, go to photos.google.com/login.
  3. Delete your selected backed up photos and videos from Google Photos.
  4. On your iPhone or iPad, wait a few minutes and make sure you’re connected to Wi-Fi.
  5. Close and reopen the app.
    • Deleted photos may still be in your Photos view. These photos are only local copies.
    • To check the backup status of the photo, tap the photo and then More More Scroll to "Details."

To ensure that your photo or video isn't backed up to Google Photos again and your local copy isn't deleted, leave backup off.

Learn what happens when you delete photos & videos.

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