How to Back Up Your Photos to Google Drive

Platforms like Google Drive offer an excellent backup solution for data, such as photos. They enable users to access their backups online, on desktop, or through a mobile app, providing a convenient safety net should any important photos be lost due to hardware or software failures on the user's device.

In this article, we'll show you how to properly back up your photos to Google Drive using the tips and tricks.

Part 1: Overview of Google Drive Backup Tools

Google is a major platform for users' digital backups, and it, too, is integrating such services as widely as possible into its users' systems, thus riding the trend toward large-scale cloud backup. In 2017, it announced Backup and Sync for individuals and Drive File Stream for businesses, to help them back up their data to remote servers.

However, Google's Backup and Sync service was discontinued in October 2021, replaced by the single-client “Drive for desktop,” which is now available for both Windows and Mac users. Along the way, Google introduced other dedicated backup services, including Google Photos. Today, users can rely on services like Google Drive and Google Photos to back up their important content.

You might also like: The Best Way to Backup Thousands of Photos

Part 2: How to Backup Photos to Google Drive (PC)

We will now delve into the specific methods to back up your photos to Google Drive. Choose the method that suits you best to safeguard your photos from any potential future loss.

Method 1: Back Up Photos with Google Drive Desktop

With Google Drive accessible from your desktop, it's easy to back up data from your computer. To use Google Drive to back up your photos on your computer, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open your web browser and go to the official website link, where you can download Google Drive for desktop. After downloading the correct link, install it properly on your computer.

Step 2: Open the Google Drive desktop app and click “Sign in with browser” to continue. You'll be redirected to your browser, where you can choose the appropriate Google account to use for storing your photo backups.

Select Log in with Browser.

Step 3: As a final confirmation, you'll be redirected to a new screen where you need to click “Sign in” to authorize the connection to Google Drive for Desktop.

Click the “Log In” button.

Step 4: Since you've installed the desktop version of Google Drive, you'll have a dedicated icon in your computer's taskbar. Click it to open the settings menu. Select the "Gear" icon, then open "Preferences."

Step 5: Click the “Add Folder” button next. This will open a new window, where you should browse for the folder that contains the photos you want to upload to Drive.

Step 6: When you add a folder, a new pop-up appears. Deselect “Back up to Google Photos” and check the box for “Sync with Google Drive,” then tap “Done.”

Step 7: Select all the folders in Google Drive that you want to back up. When you're done, tap “Save” at the bottom of the screen to apply your settings to the desktop version of Drive.

Click the Save button.

Method 2: Back Up Photos with Google Photos

Google Photos can be an excellent source to upload your photos to the cloud and set up a backup for your device. If you don't want to use Google Drive to back up your photos on desktop, consider the following method to use Google Photos as your source instead:

Step 1: Open the Google Photos website on your computer, and then click the "Upload" button in the top-right corner of the window.

Click the Upload option.

Step 2: You should see a drop-down menu; select “Computer” to upload photos from your PC or Mac.

Select the computer option.

Step 3: Select the photos from your desktop and click “Open” to upload them successfully to Google Photos.

Select the photos you want to upload

Method 3: Back Up Photos with Todo Backup

Google Drive isn't the only option for backing up your photos. With the availability of cloud services, tools like Todo Backup also offer a competitive free backup solution that keeps your backups in an efficient system. Distinctive in its field, this tool provides a secure and reliable way to back up your data, with high levels of data security within the system.

There are some features that make Todo Backup a better choice than Google Drive, and we'll focus on those.

Notable features of Todo Backup

• Provides users with 250 GB of free Tool Cloud (based on AWS) storage.
• Assists users in backing up files, systems, and disks to third-party cloud services, local drives, and dedicated Tool Cloud services.
• Offers a secure, encrypted partition called the Security Zone to protect data from ransomware attacks.
• Features one-click backup options and efficient, instant data recovery.
• Sends backup notifications to predefined email addresses for real-time updates on backup status.

The steps to back up photos using the Todo Backup tool are: 1. **Download and Install Todo Backup**: First, you'll need to download the Todo Backup software from its official website or a trusted platform. After installation, launch the program. 2. **Choose Backup Type**: Upon opening Todo Backup, you'll see various backup options like system backup, file backup, etc. Since you're backing up photos, select "File Backup" or "Data Backup." 3. **Specify Backup Source**: In the File Backup screen, click "Add File" or "Add Folder," then in the popup window, locate and choose the folder where your photos are stored, such as "Photos Library" or "DCIM" folder. 4. **Select Backup Destination**: Decide where you want to save your photo backups. You can choose your local hard drive, external hard drive, network location, or cloud storage. Pick based on your needs and available resources. 5. **Set Backup Options**: If needed, configure additional backup options like compression level, backup schedule (scheduled backups), and so on. 6. **Start the Backup**: Once you've confirmed all settings are correct, click "Start Backup" or "Backup Now." Todo Backup will begin backing up your photos. 7. **Check Your Backup**: After the backup process is complete, you can view your backed-up photos in the backup history or at the designated target location. Keep in mind that exact steps might vary slightly depending on the version of Todo Backup you're using. Make sure you have the latest version and refer to the in-program help documentation or online tutorials for more detailed guidance.

We'll walk you through how to easily back up your photos using the service.

Step 1: If you're using Todo Backup for the first time to back up your files, click Create Backup on the main screen, then hit the big question-mark button to Select backup content.

Step 2. Since you're backing up files and folders on your computer, choose the "Files" backup mode. Here, you can choose to back up pictures, videos, documents, and other types of files.

Step 3: Browse and select the files, folders, or directories you wish to back up, then click OK.

Step 4: Now, you need to select a backup location to save and keep the backup.

Step 5: Todo Backup allows users to save their backup files to any convenient device, such as a local hard drive, external USB drive, SD card, network drive, or NAS drive, as well as to the brand's proprietary cloud drive. We recommend saving important backups to a cloud drive for easier, more flexible, and secure access.

To use the Tool Cloud, you simply register and log in with an e-mail account.

Back up files to the cloud

Step 6: If you wish to set an automatic and intelligent backup schedule for your next file backup task, proceed with the 'Options' settings. Here, you can encrypt your sensitive file backups, compress the backup image size, or customize the backup scheme to specify when the software should start the next backup.

Create a sophisticated and automated backup task right here.

Step 7. Click "Backup Now" to start the backup process. When it's done, the backed-up file will appear as a card in the left pane.

Part 3: How to Backup and Sync Photos to Google Drive on Android

What if you want to back up and sync your photos on Google Drive for Android? If you want to avoid using a desktop and instead back up only between smartphones, this guide is the perfect way to set up Google Drive photo backup on your Android device:

Step 1: Open Google Drive on your Android device, then tap the "hamburger" icon in the top-left corner of the screen. Select "Settings" from the resulting menu.

Step 2: In the next window, tap on “Backup & reset,” and then find “Photos and videos” in the list.

Step 3: The system takes you to a new screen where you turn on the Backup & Sync switch to save your photos to Google Drive.

Conclusions

Do you have the right approach to back up photos with Google Drive? Given the significance of backups for data security, this article has walked you through the most effective methods to try on both PC and Android devices. Furthermore, we've provided a clear overview of Todo Backup, offering users alternative backup solutions outside of cloud services.