Google Photos works as a gallery and photo storage service. It offers two ways to upload photos. First, pictures taken from the camera are attached to it when backup is enabled. Second, you need to allow manual backup of device folders like screenshots. But what if screenshots are automatically uploaded to Google Photos? Let’s see how to fix this.
The person usually wants to save their family photos in Google Photos. When screenshots continue to be added automatically, it spoils the overall usage experience unless you want to share them or transfer them to other devices.
If you’re having the same issue, let’s see how to disable screenshots from uploading to Google Photos on Android.
Why Are Screenshots Going To Google Photos?
To keep the files on your phone organized, the operating system categorizes them in different folders. The location of a folder plays an important role in Google Photos.
We know that when backup is enabled in Google Photos, it creates a backup of the pictures in the Camera folder by default. However, this is somewhat untrue. This is because it actually creates a backup of the DCIM folder that hosts the Camera folder. If there are other folders in the DCIM folder, they will also be automatically uploaded to Google Photos. You don’t need to enable backup separately from device folders for these.
Now the screenshot issue added to Google Photos happens on phones like Samsung and Mi. You must have guessed that on these phones, the Screenshot folder is located inside the DCIM folder. This is not the case with stock Android phones that keep screenshots outside of the DCIM folder.
How to Disable Screenshot Folder to Backup to Google Photos
It may be thought that removing the screenshots folder from the DCIM folder would help. Yes, but not completely. If you change the location of the folder, a new Screenshots folder will be created immediately when you take a new screenshot. So moving the folder only helps you stop backing up old screenshots, provided they haven’t been backed up to Google Photos yet.
So, let’s check out other methods to fix the problem.
1. Add .nomedia File
The first method is to add a .nomedia file to the Screenshots folder. When you add a .nomedia file to your folder, it hides the files from being seen in various applications other than File Manager. Therefore, when you add them to the Screenshots folder, the screenshots will not appear in the Google Photos app and will not be uploaded to Google Photos.
To add a .nomedia file, launch the file explorer app on your phone. The steps may differ for different file managers, but the basic principle is the same. So, go to DCIM > Screenshots folder. Tap the Add button and select File. Name it .nomedia and save it. This much.
Fly: If the pre-installed file explorer does not support adding files, then ES File Explorer, Solid Explorer etc. Install third-party explorers like
Obviously, the downside to this method is that you won’t be able to view the screenshots via any other gallery app either. You can only access them through the File Explorer app.
2. Use a Third-Party App to Change the Folder Location
You can get help from third-party apps that automatically change the destination location of your files. One such application is Auto Transfer Lite.
With this application, you need to change the target location of your files in the Screenshots folder to a folder outside of the DCIM folder. So when you take a screenshot, it will go to the new target folder instead of going to the Screenshots folder. So the screenshots will not be part of the DCIM folder and will not be saved in the Google Photos service.
Here are the steps to use this app:
Stage 1: Install Auto Transfer Lite on your phone and open it.
Step 2: Grant the necessary permissions when prompted.
Stage 3: Tap on Add New Task. Enter a new name for the task on the next screen.
Step 4: Tap on the Source folder and select the Screenshots folder within DCIM i.e. Internal Memory/DCIM/Screenshots. You will need to tap on Allow Access to Screenshots.
If you can’t see the internal storage, tap the three-dot icon at the top and select Show internal storage. Next, navigate to Internal Memory/DCIM/Screenshots using the three-bar icon.
Step 5: Now tap on Destination Folder and choose new destination folder. You can keep it anywhere except the DCIM folder.
Fly: Tap the three-dot icon at the top to create a new folder.
Step 6: Make sure the Transfer Mode is kept as Move. You can customize various other options to suit your needs. Finally, hit the save (floppy) icon at the top to enable automatic transfer.
When you save, all your existing screenshots will also be moved to the new folder.
3. Use Third-Party Screenshot Apps
Another way to fix the problem is to download a third-party screenshot app. These apps usually let you choose the destination folder to save your screenshots.
One such application is the Screenshot Touch application. Download the app from the link given below.
Once installed, open the app and change the Saved directory location. Now use this app to take screenshot. Such apps can also be used to take screenshots on your phone when the power or home button is not working.
hope for the best
We hope you enjoyed one of the aforementioned methods to stop screenshots from loading in Google Photos. We wish other smartphone manufacturers would take the lead on stock Android and change the default location of the Screenshots folder.
Next: Don’t like the Google Photos app? Find out what happens if you remove Google Photos from your app using the next link.
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