How to Stop Google Photos Backup on Mobile & Desktop

When it comes to saving and managing photos, Google Photos has always been the primary choice for many people. One of the many reasons why users keep going back to it is the 15GB of free cloud storage. However, if you have a lot of unnecessary photos or screenshots piled up, there’s a good chance they are automatically being saved to the cloud, and before you know it your 15GB is all finished.

That is why in this article, we will jump into how to stop Google Photos backup to help you save a few dollars for those extra storage options.

How to Stop Google Photos Backup

Google Photos is a part of Google Drive which means that if you are saving pictures on one app and documents on the other, you can easily run out of your maximum amount of cloud storage. Hence, to save up your cloud storage, it’s best to turn off automatic backup on your Google Photos app.

1. Disable Google Photos Backup on Android

If you are on an Android device using the latest version of the Google Photos app, you can turn off automatic backup by following these steps:

1. Open up the Google Photos app on your device.
   

   

2. Tap on your profile icon located in the top right corner. 
   

   

3. From here, tap on Photos settings.
   

   

4. Next, select the Backup option.
   

   

5. Here, toggle off Backup to stop Google Photos from automatically uploading photos and videos to the cloud.
   

   

6. And that’s it! You can now view your photos from the Google Photos app and they will simply take up your phone storage rather than your cloud storage. 

READ MORE: How to Use Google Photos to Store All Your Photos ➜

2. Disable Google Photos Backup on iPhone

iPhones have their own cloud service called iCloud that also offers similar features to Google Photos. However, iCloud only provides users with 5GB of free cloud storage to save their documents and photos which leads to users switching to Google Photos.

If you are using Google Photos on your iPhone, here’s how to turn off automatic backup:

1. Open the Google Photos app and tap on your profile icon.
   

   

2. From here, head over to Google Photos settings.
   

   

3. Tap on the Backup option at the top.
   

   

4. Here, toggle off the slider next to Backup & sync.
   

   

READ MORE: How to Import All Your iCloud Photos to Google Photos ➜

3. Disable Google Photos Backup on Desktop

If you are on a Mac or Windows, Google Photos isn’t available as a standalone app. Instead, you have to install the Google Drive app which stores your pictures, documents, files, and more. Let’s look at both of them individually.

↪ On Mac

Here’s how to turn off automatic backup on your Mac:

1. Click on the Google Drive icon from your Menu bar.
   

   

2. From here, click on the gear icon to open up settings.
   Click the gear icon
3. Finally, select the Pause syncing option.
   

   

↪ On Windows

Here’s how to turn off automatic backup on your Windows device:

1. Open up the Google Drive app from your taskbar.
   

   

2. Next, head to the settings menu from the gear icon.
   

   

3. Finally, click on the Pause syncing option.
   

   

READ MORE: How to Digitize Old Photos & Bring Them Back to Life ➜

Alternative: Remove Google Account from Google Photos

If you simply plan to use Google Photos as your go-to photo-viewing app and aren’t interested in the other features it comes with, you can use it without adding a Google account. This way, all your photos will still be saved on your mobile storage, and you won’t have to worry anything about cloud storage.

Here’s how to use Google Photos without an account:

1. Open up your Google Photos and tap on your profile icon.
   

   

2. From here, tap on the downward arrow next to your account.
   

   

3. Finally, tap on the Use without an account option and you are good to go.
   

   

Bonus: Manually Back Up Your Pictures on Google Photos

When you have disabled automatic backup on Google Photos all your pictures including the important ones will only save to your mobile or desktop storage. On one hand, this can be convenient when saving 15GB of cloud space but if you want to keep some of your files safe and secure, you’ll need to manually back them up to the cloud.

Here’s how to manually back up photos on Google Photos:

1. Open up the Google Photos app on your device.
   

   

2. From here, long press the photo or video you want to sync. 
3. This will open up a small menu from where select the Back up now option.
   

   

READ MORE: Top 5 Best Photo Editing Applications For Android ➜

Conclusion

In short, turning off automatic backup on Google Photos helps keep your cloud storage organized by avoiding unnecessary photos. If there are specific pictures you want to save, just manually back them up. It’s all about having control and saving space the way you want.