August 11, 2026, 5:46 am | Read time: 2 minutes
Those who have been automatically backing up their photos via Google Drive for Desktop to Google Photos will need to adjust. Google has now permanently discontinued the feature.
Automatic Backup Is History
For many users, Google Drive for Desktop was a convenient way to automatically back up photos and videos from their computer to Google Photos. That’s over now: As of August 10, the desktop application no longer supports this type of photo backup. However, regular synchronization of files and folders with Google Drive continues unchanged.
The end of the feature isn’t entirely unexpected. Google had already indicated the upcoming change in the application since June 15. From that point on, users could no longer set up new folders for backup in Google Photos. Existing links continued temporarily–now this option has also been shut down.
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How to Continue Backing Up Your Images
Those who want to continue automatically saving their photos and videos to Google Photos must now set up the backup directly through the photo service. To do this, users open the Google Photos interface and select the folders whose contents should be automatically uploaded.
Important: Photos already stored in Google Photos remain intact. They do not need to be uploaded again. Users simply need to specify which folders will be used for automatic backup in the future. This may require some attention, especially for larger photo collections.
Beware of Duplicate Uploads
During the transition, users should also check whether the selected folders are simultaneously synchronized with Google Drive. If so, photos and videos can end up duplicated in Google’s cloud. This unnecessarily consumes storage space, which is limited depending on the Google plan.
To avoid duplicate uploads, users should ideally use a folder exclusively for backup in Google Photos. Conveniently, the folders don’t need to be painstakingly organized beforehand. If they contain documents or other files alongside photos and videos, Google identifies the relevant images and only includes these in the photo backup.