How do you stop Google Photos from backing up a folder?

Google Photos on Android backs up more than your camera. Google says that when backup is on, “your chosen device folders are automatically backed up too”. That can include the folders where chat apps, downloads and screenshots land. This guide shows how to pick the folders, how to hide app photos from your main view, and how to remove copies that already went up. We checked Google Photos Help on 2026-10-09.

Choose which folders back up

1. Open Google Photos and sign in.
2. Tap your profile picture or initial at the top right.
3. Tap Photos settings, then Backup.
4. Under Settings, tap Back up device folders.
5. Next to each folder you do not want backed up, turn off the setting.
6. Turn off Back up all device folders.

Step 6 matters. Google says that when Back up all device folders is on, “photos in new device folders automatically back up”. With it off, a new app’s folder stays on the phone until you turn it on.

Hide app photos from your Photos view

Hiding is not the same as stopping backup. It keeps chat photos and memes out of the main grid that you scroll through in front of people. Google’s steps:

1. Open Google Photos and tap a photo stack.
2. At the bottom, tap the More menu on the thumbnail, then Manage settings.
3. Turn Show content from other apps on or off.

With it on, you can pick Only show backed up content, Hide clutter from apps, or set each app to Show all, Hide clutter or Hide all. Google says app settings win over the main setting, so one app set to Hide all stays hidden even when the rest show. To find which app a photo came from, open it, tap More, then About, and look under Details.

Remove copies that already backed up

Turning a folder off stops future uploads. It does not remove what already went up. Google’s steps to remove backed up items:

1. In Google Photos on the phone, turn off backup on the devices where you want the photo to stay.
2. On a computer or in a mobile browser, go to photos.google.com and sign in.
3. Delete the backed up photos and videos.
4. On the phone, wait a few minutes on Wi-Fi.

Google says deleted photos stay in the trash for 30 days before they are permanently deleted, so empty the trash if they should be gone now. Our Locked Folder guide and does Google Photos scan your photos explain what Google does with photos in your account.

Keep single photos out of the backup

For a few photos, Locked Folder is simpler than folder settings. Google says Locked Folder has its own backup switch. If it is off, items stay only on that phone, and you lose them if you uninstall Google Photos, clear its data or lose the phone. It opens with your screen lock.

Partner sharing

If you use partner sharing, check it too. Google’s location help says that with partner sharing, all photos you share include location details. Our page on Google Photos partner sharing covers how to stop it from showing private photos.

What York Vault does with gallery folders

When you add photos to York Vault on Android, it encrypts them inside its own storage. That storage is not a gallery folder, so Google Photos never sees them. After York Vault checks its copy, it offers to remove the originals from your gallery. Your York Vault backup goes, encrypted, to a hidden app folder in your own Google Drive, which only York Vault can read. See import and cleanup and how York Vault backs up on Android. If Google Photos already backed up an original, delete it at photos.google.com too. Download York Vault on Google Play.