As someone who takes pictures and screenshots every day, Google Photos has been a lifesaver. All images backed up and synced to Google Photos can be accessed from anywhere and from any device. Knowing how to upload your photos to Google Photos is a pretty good place to start.
READ MORE: Beginner’s Guide to Google Photos
THE SHORT ANSWER
To upload photos to Google Photos from your iPhone or Android device, open a browser and go to the Google Photos website. Here you will find an upload button in the top right corner. You can also enable Backup and Sync from the inside Photo Settings in the Google Photos app to automatically upload the photos and videos to your device.
To upload photos to Google Photos from your computer, open a browser and go to the Google Photos website. The upload button is in the top right corner. Alternatively, you can drag photos and videos onto the page directly from File Explorer.
IMPORTANT SECTIONS
If you want quick access to photos or screenshots you’ve taken with your phone on another device, Google Photos is invaluable.
For example, when I take mobile screenshots for articles like this, I don’t connect my phone to my computer to transfer the screenshot files. Instead, those screenshots are automatically backed up and uploaded to Google Photos so I can go to the . can go Google Photos website and easy to access there.
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You get 15 GB free storage with your Google account, shared by Google Photos, Google Driveand Gmail. If you need more, you’ll have to pay for a Google One plan for additional storage.
Upload photos to Google Photos (Android and iPhone)
The Google Photos application on your Android or iOS device works the same way as your Gallery app. All the photos, videos, and screenshots you take are accessible through Google Photos.
Normally you should activate Backup and Sync from the app to “upload” your photos and videos. However, you don’t have to turn it on. You can manually upload each piece of content instead.
In this case, open your mobile browser and go to photos.google.com. This will take you to the Google Photos mobile website.
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You should find a little upload button in the top right corner of the Google Photos website. It’s an upward arrow with a horizontal bracket underneath. Select this and a small menu will open so you can choose the location of your content to send to Google Photos.
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Select what you want to upload and then, when prompted, Choose your upload size. You can choose Original quality or Storage saverwhich will reduce the quality slightly.
Press Get on to complete and upload your photo or video to Google Photos.
Backup and Sync
The easiest way to upload photos and videos to Google Photos is to enable it Backup and Sync. On mobile devices, enabling this feature ensures that once you take a photo, screenshot, or video, you can find it in Google Photos.
Open the Google Photos app on your Android or iOS device. Tap your profile picture or initials in the top right to open the Google Photos menu.
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From the Google Photos menu, select Photo Settings.
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In Photo Settingsselect Backup and Sync. This option usually appears at the top of the list.
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Press Backup and Sync button to enable or disable the function.
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Upload photos to Google Photos (computer)
Uploading content from your computer, PC or Mac is quick and easy. First open your browser and go to photos.google.com. This will take you to the Google Photos website.
From here, you can open File Explorer and drag the photo or video onto the web page to upload it. Or you can click the . click upload button in the top right corner.
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If you choose to be on the upload button, you need to click Computer in the UPLOAD FROM drop-down list to open File Explorer. Select the photos or videos you want to upload and then upload them.
You can also click Automatically back up photos from your computer in the UPLOAD FROM drop. You will need to download Google Drive to your computer to proceed and set this up.
However, if you have a lot of photos and videos on your computer, you may need to upgrade your Google One plan for more cloud storage space. Keep in mind that if you use the platform without a subscription, you only get 15 GB of free storage.
READ MORE: Delete photos from Google Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can upload your photos from your mobile device and computer. You can enable: Backup and Sync to ensure that all your photos and videos are automatically uploaded to Google Drive from your device. However, you are limited to 15 GB for all Google services, including Gmail and Google Drive. If you know you’re over that limit, you’ll need to buy a Google One plan for more storage.
The fastest way to get your photos uploaded to Google Photos is to enable it Backup and Sync.
Many believe you should turn on Backup and Sync to upload content to Google Photos. However, this is not the case. If you visit the Google Photos website from your browser, and upload button is available in the top right corner. This way you can manually upload photos.