Delete Google Photos without losing data on the phone
You can use another device or desktop to delete the image, switching on and off backup and sync option for folders, etc. And most of them didn’t work out quite well. But nonetheless, there is one small trick that can help you to do so.
1. Move the photos to a different folder
Google Photos app is both a gallery app and a backup service and if you delete a photo from Google Photos, it thinks that you don’t need the image and deletes on both local storage and cloud storage to make your work easier. But if you are like me and want to delete some useless images from Google Photos but still want to access those images on your phone, there is a small trick that can help you to do so. Start by opening the file explorer app on your phone and create a new folder. Let’s call it “Don’t Backup” for this article. Read: 10 Google Photos Tips and Tricks (2020)
Move all the photos you want to delete from Google Photos to this Don’t Backup folder.
Now, go back to the Google Photos app and turn off Back up & sync for that Don’t Backup folder in the Albums section.
Also Read: Google Photo’s New Animation Lets you Create Before and After of Portrait Photos 4. You can now delete the original copy of the photos and they will get deleted from the Cloud. You can still access a copy of the images from the Don’t Backup folder on your phone.
I recommend you take a backup of the photos on external storage as well such as a laptop or an SSD.
2. Make use of Secure Folder (Only for Samsung Users)
If you are using a Samsung phone, you can take advantage of the Secure Folder app. The photos you take from the camera in a Secure Folder will only be available in the Secure Solder and will not be backed up into Google Photos unless you installed the Google Photos app in the secure folder as well. Read: Best One UI Features to use Samsung Phone Like a Pro
Anyhow, if you are not using Secure Folder yet, you can enable it by going to Settings > Biometric and security > Secure Solder and create your account. It gives you a second space to install apps and you can only access it with a password. You get separate storage, separate apps and even separate Google account if you want.
Wrapping up
This was a quick way to delete Google Photos from the Cloud without affecting the local backup. I agree this should just be a one-click process but it is the current situation right now. What do you think of this method? Let me know in the comments below.
