Google has an important notice up on its Google Drive support page, sharing that the desktop app will no longer offer support for Google Photos backups after August 10, 2026 (via MUO). This isn’t an abrupt change, but if you haven’t been paying attention, there’s a good chance you might be caught by surprise.
So what does this all mean?
Now, you might be confused about what’s going on because Google Drive and Google Photos will both still continue to operate after this date. It’s a small detail, but Google Drive for desktop has the option to automatically back up folders with photos directly to Google Photos.
It’s convenient because there are no extra steps involved, and the process is rather smooth. However, once August 10 passes, the apps will no longer sync with each other. So, you won’t be able to automatically have Drive send your data to Google Photos.
A big change, so be prepared
If you’re someone who relies on this connection, you’ll want to be prepared. You don’t want to think that all your photos are being backed up only to realize at some point that they really aren’t. The good news is that there is a solution. It’s not pretty, but there’s not much of a choice at this moment.
Since there is no official Google Photos desktop app, you will need to visit the Photos website to back up to the service going forward. Yes, it’s a bit of a pain, but it’s a necessary step for now. You can set up this process by going to the Photos website, selecting the “+” in the upper right-hand corner, and choosing the Backup folders option.
Once you set up the folders you want backed up, Google Photos will always back up those images whenever you visit the website. That last part is going to be the largest hurdle for most people. While the Drive to Photos method was seamless, this new backup method requires an extra step.
Just set a reminder for yourself for now, and eventually it will become second nature. You’ll have a few more days to get this all in order. Remember, August 10 is when the service-to-service connection will be severed. Whatever photos you have uploaded to Photos will remain; you just won’t be able to send anything using the old method.
If you’re someone who uses their phone a lot to take photos, I’d highly recommend downloading the Google Photos app in order to get a more seamless backup process going. You can set up the app to back up your photos as soon as you take them. You can also set up the quality at which the photos get backed up, and there’s even a more efficient mode to save on cloud storage.