Can I delete photos from Google photos without deleting them from my phone?

Answer

If you delete images from Google Photos, they will be deleted from all devices synced with Google Photos. You would have to go ahead and delete the photos in-app but then go into your device’s trash container to recover them.

Delete Photos From Google Photos But Keep on Device

Yes, you can. I don’t know what “Steve” did to his phone, but for the rest of us who want to keep photos and still be able to get rid of them (ie reclaim space) from Google Photos – just launch Google Photos in your browser. On the top right, click “Settings”. On the left-hand side, you will see an option that says “Delete” and it will show a date. Click on that date. You can then choose to delete all photos (or videos) taken during that time from your Google Photos account without deleting them from your phone. Delete any which you do not want in Google Photos as well. Important note: when I checked this last night, for some reason my Google Photos was stuck on Jan 12th so I had to select a different day. Your mileage may vary!

I wouldn’t worry about it. Photos you have backed up with Google Photos are supposed to be saved permanently (as long as you keep your backup going). Just remember to go back to the settings for Google Photo backups and make sure that only photos are being saved and nothing from apps or anything else. Delete the ones you need off your phone, then create a second album with those photos only. Then click into the app settings (the gear icon) and select “Backup” at the top of the list. Un-check all categories but photos – click save. This way they will just be backed up quickly to your drive without depending on the phone storage. Then if you want, go into Google Photos Settings and uncheck Backup (so that they don’t upload again).

See more questions like this: help me please delete all photos of my google drive on Feb 19, 2017, not realizing it had been synced with my chrome book how can I get them back

You have a great article and love the way your words flow similar to mine when I write. Do you mind if I quote some of your content within my own articles? Thank you! Happy New Year — Posted by Noel in Denver on Sunday, January 1, 2018

Sure! Just be sure to include a link to this page so people can reproduce the steps as listed here: https://www.theunlockr.com/2017/12/05/delete-photos-google-photo-library

Can you access photos on your google photo account from your storage drive? — Posted by Jim in Minnesota on Sunday, December 10, 2017

Not quite sure what you mean by “Storage drive”. I assume referring to Google Drive or something similar (which is not the same as Google Photos). Yes, you can access photos from there if they are being synced from a computer – but it would be better to just delete them manually instead of having that extra step every time. Or stop backing up the photos and only backup selectively through the app settings menu. See above.

I accidentally deleted all my photos off google onto my phone and now I have no photos and I’m trying to figure out how I can get them back. Please help! — Posted by the Zambezi in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday, December 12, 2017

If you’re able to log into your Google account (to view the backup) then the “Multiple Devices” option is probably what you want. Just go into Settings for that first – then select “Backup”. In there choose multiple devices and click either one of your phones or anything else where you backed up these deleted photos (the main goal will be just not having to download them again). You could also uncheck backup for some categories like music/app data etc which may speed up this process as well if it’s a problem.