How do I stop Google Photos partner sharing from showing my private photos?

You turned on partner sharing years ago, so your partner would get the kids’ photos without asking. Now it also sends your screenshots, your scans of documents, and the photos you took for yourself. Or you split up, and your ex still gets every new photo. Google Photos partner sharing runs in the background, and many people forget it is on. This page shows how to limit it, stop it and keep private photos out of it. We checked each step against Google’s own help pages on 2026-10-08.

What partner sharing sends

Google says your partner “will receive the photos you’ve chosen to share as soon as they’re backed up.” What counts as chosen depends on what you picked at setup:

• All photos, from All time or since a date you picked. This includes screenshots and any photo of a document.
• Only photos containing selected people, matched by face groups.
• Content from other Android apps, if you turned on Include content from other Android apps. Photos that other apps back up to Google Photos are then shared too.

Google adds that photos edited on your phone are shared. On the other side, your partner can save your photos to their own account, and Google says saved photos “appear in your Google Photos account, photos view, search results, and Memories.” Your partner can also set face groups so that photos of chosen people save to their account automatically.

Limit it, or stop it

All of these start in the same place:

1. Open the Google Photos app.
2. At the top, tap your profile picture or initial.
3. Tap Photos settings, then Sharing, then Partner sharing.

From there:

• Share less. Select [your partner’s name] can access, then change the starting date, switch to Only photos containing selected people, or turn off content from other Android apps.
• Remove one photo. Tap the photo, tap More, then Remove. Google notes “You can only remove photos that you own.”
• Stop sending your photos. Tap More, then Stop sharing your photos.
• End it both ways. Tap Remove Partner. Google says your partner then “won’t be able to access the photos that you have shared and you won’t be able to access their photos.”

Google allows partner sharing with one person at a time. To share with someone new, you first stop sharing with your current partner.

What your partner keeps

Every step above stops future access. None of them reaches copies your partner already saved. Google says “You and your partner will still be able to find any photos already saved to your Google Photos account.” It also says that anything you do to your version of a shared photo, including edits, deletions or a move to the Locked Folder, does not change their saved copy.

If you shared an album as well, close that separately. Our page on an ex who still sees a shared album covers shared albums on iPhone, and the same idea holds in Google Photos: removing a person does not take back what they saved.

Partner sharing is also not the only way a partner may see where you are. Google Location Sharing lists the people who see your location in Settings, Location, Location services, Google Location Sharing. See is someone tracking my phone.

Keep private photos out of partner sharing

You may want to keep partner sharing for family photos and keep a few things out of it. You have three ways.

Share by face group. If you only want to share photos of your children, choose Only photos containing selected people. Screenshots and documents then stay out. A photo where a chosen face appears is still shared, whatever else is in it.

Use the Locked Folder. Google says the Locked Folder “is designed to be private and not shared.” Its items do not appear in shared items, memories or search. But Google also says “people who have access to the device screen lock can unlock Locked Folder.” If your partner knows your screen lock, it is open to them. Our Locked Folder guide covers it in full.

Use an app with its own code. York Vault keeps private photos in a separate library on Android, outside Google Photos. Photos inside it are never backed up to Google Photos, so partner sharing never sees them.

1. Add the photos to York Vault from the photo picker or the share sheet.
2. York Vault encrypts each one on the phone and checks each copy.
3. Remove the originals from Google Photos, and empty its trash. The import and cleanup page shows each step.

The timing matters. Partner sharing sends a photo once it backs up. A photo already shared can be saved on the other side before you move it. For new private photos, take them with York Vault’s private camera, so they never reach Google Photos at all.

What York Vault does on Android

York Vault runs the same on Android as on iPhone. The Android page has the details.

• Its own code. A PIN, a passcode or a pattern, never the phone’s screen lock. Fingerprint or face unlock is optional. See lock options.
• A free backup that Google cannot read. York Vault backs up to the app data folder of your own Google Drive, which only York Vault can read, and the files are encrypted before upload.
• No screenshots. Android blocks screenshots and screen recording on every York Vault screen.
• A neutral icon with its own name. Each neutral icon carries its own label on the home screen.

For the other built-in options, read our guides on hiding photos on Android and locking photos on Android.