How to Unsync Google Photos

To unsync Google Photos, open the Google Photos app, tap your profile picture, go to the Backup settings, and turn Backup off. New photos stop uploading to your Google Account. Photos that were already backed up stay in Google Photos until you remove them.

This guide covers turning off backup on Android and iPhone, removing a phone’s backup from Google Photos without deleting the photos on the phone, backing up only some folders, and what to watch out for when deleting. The steps follow Google’s Back up photos and videos and Delete photos and videos help pages.

In this article:

• Turn off backup on Android or iPhone
• Delete selected Google Photos but keep them on iPhone
• Remove a phone’s backup from Google Photos
• Stop backing up certain folders
• Be careful with deleting
• Check what’s backed up
• Frequently asked questions

Turn Off Backup on Android or iPhone

1. Open the Google Photos app and sign in to your Google Account if asked.
2. Tap your profile picture or initial at the top right.
3. Tap Photos settings (Android) or Google Photos settings (iPhone), then Backup.
4. Turn Backup off.

Result: New photos and videos stay on your phone and don’t upload to your Google Account. Google says your backup status then reads “Backup is off” when you tap your profile picture. The Google Photos app still shows photos stored on your device, but Google notes that seeing them in the app doesn’t mean they’re backed up.

Delete Selected Google Photos but Keep Them on iPhone

First open the wanted photos in Apple Photos and make a separate copy before removing their Google backup. An image visible in either app is not proof of an independent backup. Apple’s download and export instructions explain saving originals elsewhere. Deleting in Apple Photos can also delete the item from iCloud Photos and other devices using that library.

Use a browser for this method, not the Google Photos app’s Trash button. Turning Backup off does not make ordinary in-app deletion harmless to your iPhone library.

1. Turn Backup off on the iPhone using the section above, and on each other device whose copy you want to keep.
2. Open photos.google.com/login in a computer or mobile browser. Check the Google Account before choosing items.
3. Select only the backed-up photos you intend to remove and move them to Google Photos trash. Begin with a small selection whose separate copy you have verified.
4. Connect the iPhone to Wi-Fi, wait a few minutes, then reopen Google Photos. The app may still display the local copies.
5. Open a remaining item and check More and Details for its backup status. Confirm it remains in Apple Photos too.

Leave Backup off afterward. Google’s iPhone backup guide describes this browser route; re-enabling backup can upload removed items again or affect the device copy. Keep your replacement backup current.

Avoid Delete from device and Free up space on this device when the goal is to keep the iPhone copy. Google’s Free up space explanation describes the opposite result: removing phone copies while retaining cloud copies.

Remove a Phone’s Backup From Google Photos but Keep the Photos

For photos currently on an Android phone or iPhone, Undo backup removes their Google Photos backups while retaining the device copies. Google’s current iPhone deletion guide documents this option. Review the effects below before confirming; use the browser method above for a selected subset.

Result: Google removes the photos and videos currently on that device from Google Photos, and they stay on your phone. Backup turns off automatically on that device. Google warns that the removed items also disappear from albums, shared albums, search results and memories, and that Locked Folder and device folder items are included.

1. Open the Google Photos app.
2. Tap your profile picture or initial, then Photos settings > Backup on Android or Google Photos settings > Backup on iPhone.
3. Scroll down and tap Undo backup.
4. Check the box next to “I understand my photos and videos from this device will be deleted from Google Photos.”
5. Tap Delete Google Photos backup.

If the same account is signed in on another device with backup turned on, Google says those photos may be backed up again. Turn backup off on every device first.

Stop Backing Up Certain Folders (Android)

If you only want to stop some folders from syncing, such as screenshots or WhatsApp images, Google lets you choose:

1. In the Google Photos app, tap your profile picture, then Photos settings > Backup.
2. Under Settings, tap Back up device folders.
3. Turn off the folders you don’t want to back up. You can also turn Back up all device folders on or off.

Result: Backup stays on for your camera photos, but the folders you turned off stop uploading. Google notes that when “Back up all device folders” is on, new folders back up automatically.

Be Careful With Deleting

• Ordinary deletion in the Google Photos app can remove the device copy too. With backup on, deletion also affects the account and other devices with backup enabled, plus albums and shared albums. Use the specific browser or Undo backup method when retaining device copies.
• Deleted items stay in the trash for 30 days before Google permanently deletes them. To clear it sooner on an Android phone, see how to empty the Google Photos trash on Android. Permanently deleted items can’t be restored.
• To remove only the copy on your phone, open the photo and tap More > Delete from device.
• If you turn backup back on later, Google says a photo you deleted may be backed up again, or the device copy may be deleted.

Check What’s Backed Up

To see whether a specific photo is backed up, open it and tap More > About, then scroll to “Details.” Google says a backed-up photo shows its backup status and size there. When backup is off, a cloud with a check mark on a thumbnail means the item is backed up, and an empty thumbnail means it isn’t.

If you’re keeping backup on but want it to use less space, you can change the backup quality. See how to take smaller pictures on an Android phone, including the Storage saver backup option.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will turning off backup delete my photos?

No. Turning off backup only stops new uploads. Photos on your phone stay there, and photos already in Google Photos stay in your account.

How do I stop syncing to one Google Account and use another?

Google lets you back up to only one account at a time. In Photos settings > Backup, tap your profile picture under “Account & Storage” and pick the account you want.

Is there an Undo backup option on iPhone?

Yes. Google now documents Google Photos settings > Backup > Undo backup for iPhone and iPad. If that control is unavailable, use the selected-photo browser method above. Update the app and check its current help rather than assuming every release has identical controls.

Related: How to Create a Google Drive Link for Photos.