Why Back Up Your Photos
Your phone holds photos you can never take again: birthdays, holidays, your children’s first steps. Phones get lost, stolen, dropped in water, or simply stop turning on, and when that happens the photos go with them unless a backup already exists.
Backing up your photos means copying them automatically to a safe place on the internet, so that even if your phone disappears tomorrow, your pictures are still there, ready to download onto a new phone. It also ends the constant “storage full” warnings.
Two services do most of this work: Google Photos and iCloud Photos. Google Photos works on both Android phones and iPhones, while iCloud Photos is built into every iPhone. Both back up your pictures automatically once you switch them on, and both let you view your photos from any device.
One difference matters before you start. iCloud Photos is Apple’s own backup service, and it only backs up photos from an iPhone or iPad. There is no iCloud Photos backup app for Android, and you cannot back up an Android phone’s photos to iCloud. On an Android phone you can open icloud.com and view your iCloud photos, but that is viewing, not backing up. If you use an Android phone, Google Photos is the backup service you want.
Before You Start
A photo backup is only useful if it actually finishes, so work through these preparations first.
Step 1: Connect to Wi-Fi. A phone with a few thousand photos can need several gigabytes of upload, and mobile data can burn through a data allowance in a single afternoon.
Step 2: Plug your phone into a charger. Uploading thousands of photos is heavy work, and both services pause or slow down when the battery is low.
Step 3: Check how many photos you have. On iPhone, check Settings, then General, then iPhone Storage. On Android, check the library count in Google Photos.
Step 4: Sign in to the right account. Google Photos backs up to the Google account you are signed in with, and iCloud Photos backs up to the Apple ID on your iPhone.
Step 5: Decide on backup quality. Google Photos offers Original quality, which keeps every pixel, or Storage saver, which compresses photos slightly to use less space.
How to Back Up Photos to Google Photos on Android
Google Photos comes pre-installed on most Android phones. Once you turn backup on, it uploads your photos and videos automatically whenever the phone is on Wi-Fi and charging.
Step 1: Open the Google Photos app. Look for the colourful pinwheel icon in your app drawer or on your home screen, or download it free from the Google Play Store.
Step 2: Check you are signed in to the right Google account. Tap your profile picture in the top-right corner and check which account is active.
Step 3: Open the backup settings. Tap your profile picture, then Photos settings, then Backup.
Step 4: Turn on Backup. Tap the Backup toggle. Google Photos will start uploading straight away, so leave the phone on Wi-Fi and charging.
Step 5: Choose your backup quality. Tap Backup quality and pick Original quality or Storage saver. For most people, Storage saver is the better choice.
Step 6: Choose which folders to back up. Camera photos back up by default, but pictures saved by other apps live in separate folders. Tap Back up device folders and switch on the ones you care about, such as WhatsApp Images or Screenshots.
Step 7: Decide whether to back up over mobile data. By default Google Photos only backs up on Wi-Fi. You can allow mobile data backup in the same settings, with a daily limit.
Step 8: Check that the backup is running. Go back to the main Photos screen. At the top you should see “Backup in progress” or a count of photos still to upload.
Step 9: Confirm the backup is complete. Tap your profile picture: it should say “Backup complete”. Then open photos.google.com on a computer to confirm your photos are there.
What if Google Photos is not backing up on Android
The usual cause is battery optimisation: Android sometimes puts Google Photos to sleep, which stops the upload. Go to Settings, then Apps, then Photos, then Battery, and set it to Unrestricted. Also check data saver mode is off and your Google storage is not full.
How to Back Up Photos to Google Photos on iPhone
Google Photos works just as well on iPhone, and many iPhone owners use it alongside or instead of iCloud, because it works on every platform.
Step 1: Download Google Photos from the App Store. Search for Google Photos, install it, and open it. It does not replace the Apple Photos app.
Step 2: Sign in with your Google account. Use the Google account you want your photos tied to. If you already use Gmail or Google Drive on this phone, it may already be offered to you.
Step 3: Allow access to your photos when asked. Choose Allow Access to All Photos: choosing only selected photos means Google Photos can only back up the ones you picked.
Step 4: Turn on backup. Tap your profile picture, then Photos settings, then Backup, and turn the Backup toggle on.
Step 5: Choose your backup quality. Pick Original quality or Storage saver. On iPhone, Storage saver is usually the sensible default, because iPhone photos and videos are large and the free 15 GB fills up fast.
Step 6: Leave the app open for the first backup. iOS limits background apps, so the first backup runs much faster if you leave Google Photos open on screen with the phone plugged in and on Wi-Fi.
Step 7: Check the backup status. Tap your profile picture and look for “Backup complete” or the number of items still waiting. You can also check photos.google.com in a browser.
Step 8: Decide what happens to Apple Photos. Installing Google Photos does not turn off iCloud Photos or delete anything from Apple Photos. Your pictures now exist in both places.
How to Back Up Photos to iCloud on iPhone
iCloud Photos is built into every iPhone, so there is nothing to download. Once it is switched on, every photo and video is uploaded automatically and stays in sync across your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and the iCloud website. Deleted photos sync too, so deleting a picture on one device removes it everywhere.
Step 1: Open Settings and tap your name at the top. This opens your Apple ID screen. Make sure it is the Apple ID you want your photos tied to.
Step 2: Tap iCloud. Tap iCloud to open the iCloud settings page.
Step 3: Tap Photos. This opens the iCloud Photos settings screen.
Step 4: Turn on Sync this iPhone. Toggle the switch at the top of the Photos screen. Your iPhone will start uploading to iCloud: keep it on Wi-Fi and plugged in.
Step 5: Choose between Optimise iPhone Storage and Download and Keep Originals. Optimise iPhone Storage keeps small versions on the phone and stores the full-resolution originals in iCloud, downloading them only when you open a photo.
Step 6: Check your iCloud storage. iCloud only gives you 5 GB free, shared with iPhone backups, messages, and other app data. If Photos alone is bigger than your free space, the backup will stop partway.
Step 7: Confirm the upload is progressing. Open the Photos app, tap Library, and scroll to the bottom. You should see “Uploading 1,243 items” or “Updated Just Now” when the backup is done.
Step 8: View your photos on another device to confirm. Open icloud.com in a browser on a computer, sign in with the same Apple ID, and click Photos. If your pictures are there, the backup worked.
What iCloud Photos cannot do on Android
There is no iCloud Photos app for Android, and there is no way to back up an Android phone’s photos into iCloud automatically. Apple makes iCloud Photos for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Windows PCs only. On an Android phone you can open icloud.com in Chrome, sign in, and view or download individual photos already in your iCloud account. But that is viewing and downloading, not backing up.
Using Google Photos and iCloud Together
You do not have to choose one service and abandon the other. Many iPhone owners run both, so every photo ends up in two places: if one service has a problem, the other copy still exists.
Step 1: Set up iCloud Photos first. Follow the iPhone steps above, and let the iCloud upload get well underway before adding the second service.
Step 2: Install Google Photos and turn on backup. Follow the iPhone Google Photos steps above. Google Photos will now upload the same photos a second time, to your Google account.
Step 3: Use Storage saver in Google Photos if you keep iCloud at full quality. iCloud stores your photos at original quality, so let Google Photos be the compressed second copy: your iCloud copy is the master, and your Google copy is the one you can open on any device.
Step 4: Understand that deleting is not shared between the two services. Deleting a photo from Apple Photos removes it everywhere on Apple devices, but Google Photos keeps its own copy. The reverse is also true.
Step 5: Pick one app as your daily photo app. Most people keep using Apple Photos day to day, because it is built in, and treat Google Photos as the backup they open on a computer or a non-Apple device.
Storage Limits and Plans
Both services are free to start, but the free allowances are small compared with a modern photo library: a single minute of 4K video can be hundreds of megabytes.
Google gives you 15 GB of free storage, shared across Google Photos, Gmail, and Google Drive. When it is full, Google Photos stops backing up new photos until you free space or buy more storage.
Apple gives you 5 GB of free iCloud storage, shared across iCloud Photos, iPhone backups, messages, and app data. A single iPhone backup can use most of it on its own, so almost anyone with a real photo library needs a paid plan.
Google One is the paid storage for Google Photos: plans start at 100 GB, with 200 GB and 2 TB options, and prices vary by country. One plan covers every Google service on that account, and you can share it with family members.
iCloud+ is the paid storage for iCloud Photos: Apple sells 50 GB, 200 GB, and 2 TB plans, and the price varies by country. One plan covers everything in your iCloud account, including device backups, and Family Sharing covers the whole family.
Before buying, check your library size in Settings, then General, then iPhone Storage. Buy the plan that covers your library with room to grow.
How to Check Your Backup Status
Turning a backup on is not the same as having a backup: one that stopped three months ago will not protect the photos you took since then. Checking takes less than a minute, and it is worth doing once a month.
Step 1: Check Google Photos on your phone. Open Google Photos and tap your profile picture: the status line reads “Backup complete”, “Backup in progress”, “Waiting for Wi-Fi”, or “Backup off”.
Step 2: Check Google Photos on a computer. Open photos.google.com, sign in, and look for a photo you took yesterday. If it is there, the backup is working.
Step 3: Check iCloud Photos on your iPhone. Open the Photos app, tap Library, and scroll to the bottom: the status line shows how many items are still uploading, or “Updated Just Now” when everything is done.
Step 4: Check iCloud Photos on a computer. Open icloud.com, sign in, and click Photos. Look for a photo from yesterday: if it is there, iCloud has it.
Step 5: Make it a habit. Put a monthly reminder on your calendar. It catches the two problems that silently break backups: full storage and a paused upload.
How to Free Up Space After Backup
Once your photos are safely backed up, you can remove the copies stored on your phone and reclaim gigabytes of space. Only delete from the phone after you have confirmed the backup is complete on a computer: deleting first is the one mistake that loses photos permanently.
Step 1: Confirm the backup is complete. Do the computer check from the previous section first, and confirm your recent photos are visible there. Do not skip this step.
Step 2: Free up space in Google Photos. Open Google Photos, tap your profile picture, and tap Free up space. The app shows how much space it can reclaim from device copies already backed up. Tap to confirm: the phone copies go, the cloud copies stay.
Step 3: Free up space with iCloud on iPhone. If you use iCloud Photos, go to Settings, then Photos, and select Optimise iPhone Storage. Your iPhone will then replace full-size photos with small versions when space gets tight, keeping the originals in iCloud.
Step 4: Delete large videos you have already shared. Videos are the biggest files on your phone. Once a video is backed up and shared where you wanted it, you can delete the phone copy. Check the cloud copy first, then delete.
Step 5: Check how much space you recovered. Check Settings, then Storage (on iPhone, General, then iPhone Storage). You should see several gigabytes freed.
Moving Photos Between Google Photos and iCloud
People switch services more often than you might think: an iPhone owner moves to Android, or an Android owner buys their first iPhone. Moving a photo library is not a one-tap job, but it is straightforward if you do it in the right order.
Step 1: Decide which direction you are moving. Moving from iCloud to Google Photos means getting your photos out of Apple’s system and into Google’s, and the other direction means the opposite. The tools differ, so be clear about yours before you start.
Step 2: Move from Google Photos to iCloud using Google Takeout. Open takeout.google.com, sign in, and export only Google Photos. Google emails you when the ZIP files are ready. Download and unzip them, then upload them to iCloud: drag them into the Photos app on a Mac, use the iCloud for Windows app on a PC, or upload them at icloud.com.
Step 3: Move from iCloud to Google Photos using icloud.com. Open icloud.com on a computer, sign in with your Apple ID, and open Photos. Select the photos you want to move and download them to your computer, in batches for a whole library. Then open photos.google.com, click Upload, and choose the downloaded files. Apple also offers a direct transfer that copies your iCloud Photos library to Google Photos without downloading anything: search Apple’s support site for “Transfer iCloud Photos to Google Photos” and follow the request process. It takes a few days.
Step 4: Wait for the transfer to finish, then verify. Do not delete the originals until you have checked the destination. Open the new service on a computer and spot-check photos from different years: if you moved 5,000 photos, it should show about 5,000 new items.
Step 5: Turn on backup in the new service. Once the old library is safely in the new service, set up automatic backup there using the steps earlier in this guide.
Step 6: Only then turn off or delete the old service. Keep the old library as a spare copy for a month, then cancel the old paid plan or delete the old copies. Rushing this step is how libraries get lost.
Common Problems and How to Fix Them
Backup is stuck and the count never goes down. This usually means storage is full, Wi-Fi is weak, or the phone is not charging. Check storage first, then connect to stronger Wi-Fi and plug the phone in. On Android, check that battery optimisation is not putting Google Photos to sleep.
Some photos are backed up but others are missing. On Android, the missing photos are probably in a device folder that backup is not switched on for: open Google Photos, go to Photos settings, then Backup, then Back up device folders, and switch it on. On iPhone, check Google Photos has Allow Access to All Photos permission in Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Photos.
iCloud says there is not enough storage. This is the 5 GB free limit doing its job. Either buy an iCloud+ plan, or turn off iCloud Photos and use Google Photos instead, which gives you 15 GB free. You can also free iCloud space by deleting old device backups under Manage Account Storage.
You switched phones and your photos are not there. Sign in to the same Google account or Apple ID on the new phone, open the Photos app, and wait: a large library can take hours to appear. If nothing appears, you are probably signed in to a different account than the one the backup used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Google Photos free? The app is free, and every Google account includes 15 GB shared across Photos, Gmail, and Drive. More than 15 GB needs a paid Google One plan.
Is iCloud Photos free? The feature is free, but every Apple ID only includes 5 GB of iCloud storage, shared with backups and other data. Most people need a paid iCloud+ plan.
Can I back up an Android phone to iCloud? No. There is no iCloud Photos backup app for Android. On Android you can view your iCloud photos at icloud.com, but you cannot back up to iCloud: use Google Photos instead.
Can I use Google Photos on iPhone? Yes. Google Photos works fully on iPhone, and you can run it alongside iCloud Photos for two copies of everything.
Final Thoughts
Losing your photos feels impossible until the day it happens to you. Setting up a backup takes about ten minutes, and after that it looks after itself. Turn on Google Photos on Android, or on iPhone turn on iCloud Photos, Google Photos, or both, and let the first upload finish on Wi-Fi while your phone charges overnight.
Check the backup once a month by looking for a recent photo on a computer, and check your storage before it runs out rather than after. The best backup is the one already running when you need it, and the second best time to set it up is today.
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