How to back up images to Google Drive from an Android phone

To back up images to Google Drive from an Android phone, open the Drive app, tap the + button, choose Upload and pick your photos. If you want every new photo saved automatically instead, turn on backup in the Google Photos app. They are two different services, and this guide shows when to use each one.

Google Photos backup and Google Drive are not the same thing

Many people think Google Photos and Google Drive are one place. They used to be connected, but since July 2019 they no longer sync with each other. A photo you upload to Drive does not show up in Google Photos, and a photo backed up by Google Photos does not appear in your Drive folders.

Here is the simple difference:

• Google Photos backup is automatic. Once it's on, every new photo from your camera (and from any other folders you choose) is uploaded in the background. It's made for your everyday camera roll.
• Uploading to Google Drive is manual. You pick the images, you choose the folder, and they stay exactly where you put them. It's made for images you want to organise or share: scanned documents, exam photos, project pictures, a set of photos for a client.

What they do share is storage. Both use the same Google Account space, so one doesn't give you extra room on top of the other.

Method 1: turn on automatic backup in Google Photos

If your goal is "I don't want to lose my photos if my phone breaks or gets stolen", this is the method to use. Set it up once and forget about it.

1. Open the Google Photos app and make sure you're signed in to the right Google Account.
2. Tap your profile picture or initial at the top right.
3. Tap Photos settings, then Backup.
4. Turn Backup on.

A few settings on the same Backup screen are worth checking:

• Back up device folders. By default, the camera folder is backed up. Photos from WhatsApp, screenshots or downloads live in other folders. Tap "Back up device folders" and turn on the ones you want, or turn on "Back up all device folders" so new folders are included automatically.
• Mobile data usage. If your data pack is small, set a daily limit for backups over mobile data and turn off "Back up videos over data". Photos will then upload fully when you're on Wi-Fi.
• Backup quality. This decides how much space each photo takes. More on it below.

Google's own help page, Back up photos & videos, has the current steps if the menus change.

Method 2: upload images to Google Drive from the Drive app

Use this when you want specific images in a specific folder, for example all the documents for a college admission, or photos you need to share with a teacher or an office.

1. Open the Google Drive app.
2. Open the folder where you want the images. To make a new one, tap + and then Folder.
3. Inside that folder, tap + and then Upload.
4. Choose the images. Long-press one image to start selecting, then tap the others to select several at once.
5. Wait for the upload to finish. You can watch the progress at the bottom of the screen or in your notifications.

You can also start from the gallery: select photos in your gallery or file manager, tap Share, and choose Drive. Drive then asks which account and folder to save them in.

If your data is limited, open the Drive app's Settings and, under "Data usage", turn on Transfer files only over Wi-Fi. Uploads will wait until you're connected to Wi-Fi.

Can you upload a whole folder from Android?

Google's help pages describe uploading folders only on a computer. In the Android app, you upload files, not folders. The practical workaround on a phone is to create a folder in Drive, open it, and then select all the images from the matching folder on your phone in the upload picker.

If you have a computer, it's quicker: go to drive.google.com, click New, then Folder upload, and pick the folder. Drive keeps its name and the files inside it. You can copy the folder from your phone to the computer with a USB cable first.

The free 15 GB: what counts and what doesn't

Every Google Account comes with 15 GB of free storage, and it's shared across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos. Every email attachment, every file in Drive and every photo backed up by Google Photos uses the same 15 GB.

That has two consequences:

• If you back up a photo with Google Photos and upload the same photo to Drive, it uses space twice.
• A phone with years of photos and videos can fill 15 GB quickly. Videos take far more space than photos.

To see what's using your space, open your Google storage page. If you're already close to the limit, our guide to Google Drive storage full explains how to find and remove the biggest files.

Original quality vs Storage saver

Google Photos lets you choose the backup quality. As of November 2026, Google's help page lists these options:

All three count toward your 15 GB. The only exception, according to Google's help page on backup quality, is photos and videos backed up in the old High quality (now Storage saver) or Express before June 1, 2021.

Uploading images directly to Google Drive is different: Drive keeps the file exactly as it is. There's no quality setting, so a 5 MB photo uses 5 MB of your storage.

For a phone camera roll, Storage saver is usually the sensible choice. On a phone screen, and even in a normal print, most people can't tell the difference. Keep Original quality for photos you'll edit or print large.

Is this a real backup?

Partly. Google Photos backup and Drive uploads protect you if your phone is lost, stolen or broken. But they are tied to one Google Account. If you delete a photo in Google Photos, it's deleted from the backup too (after some time in the Trash). And if you lose access to your account, you lose access to all of it at once.

For photos you truly can't replace, keep a second copy somewhere else: a computer, an external disk or another cloud. If you want to protect your Drive files in the same way, read our guide on how to back up Google Drive, which covers Google Takeout and copying everything to a second cloud. A service like pCloud also has an Android app with automatic photo upload, so it can work as that second copy without any extra effort.

Tips to back up images without problems

• Check the account. Many phones have more than one Google Account. Look at the profile picture in Photos and Drive before you start, so your images don't end up in an old account.
• Let the first backup finish on Wi-Fi. The first backup of an old phone can be several gigabytes. Plug in the charger and leave it on Wi-Fi overnight.
• Don't delete from your phone too early. Before you remove photos to free space, open Google Photos and make sure the backup is complete. Google Photos has a "Free up space" option that only removes items already backed up.
• Keep private images private. Files you upload to Drive are private unless you share them. Be careful with images of ID cards, marksheets or bank documents: share them with specific people, not with "Anyone with the link".
• Name your folders well. "Admission 2026 documents" is easier to find later than "New folder (3)".

Frequently asked questions

Do photos in Google Drive show up in Google Photos?

No. Since July 2019, Google Drive and Google Photos don't sync with each other. Images you upload to Drive stay in Drive, and photos backed up by Google Photos stay in Google Photos.

Which is better for backing up images, Google Photos or Google Drive?

For your whole camera roll, Google Photos, because it backs up automatically and lets you save space with Storage saver. For a chosen set of images that you want to organise in folders or share, Google Drive.

Does backing up images to Google Drive use my free storage?

Yes. Images in Drive and photos backed up by Google Photos all count toward the 15 GB of free storage that every Google Account has, together with Gmail.

Do images lose quality when I upload them to Google Drive?

No. Google Drive stores the file exactly as you upload it. Only Google Photos backup can reduce the size of photos and videos, and only if you choose Storage saver or Express.