Open your Google Photos library and there’s a good chance it’s buried in screenshots: receipts, memes, error messages, and that Wi-Fi password you saved back in 2023. By default, Google Photos backs up your phone’s Screenshots folder right alongside your real photos, cluttering your timeline and quietly eating into your free 15 GB of storage.
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The good news is you can stop it in under a minute, and turning it off won’t delete the photos you actually care about. Here’s exactly how to keep screenshots out of your Google Photos backup on both Android and iPhone.
Quick Answer
Open the Google Photos app, tap your profile picture, and go to Photos settings then Backup then Back up device folders. Find the Screenshots folder and turn its toggle off. Google Photos will keep backing up your camera roll but leave screenshots alone from now on.
Why Screenshots End Up in Google Photos
Google Photos automatically backs up your main camera roll, but it also offers to back up ‘device folders’: extra folders created by other apps, including WhatsApp, Instagram, Downloads, and your phone’s Screenshots folder. When that folder is switched on, every screenshot you take syncs to the cloud and shows up in your main Photos grid.
For most people that isn’t useful. Screenshots are usually temporary, a quick reference you delete a week later, but they pile up fast and pad your storage usage. That matters because Google only gives you 15 GB free across Photos, Gmail, and Drive combined, so a few hundred screenshots can push you toward a paid plan you don’t need.
Turn Off Screenshot Backup: Step by Step
1. Open the Google Photos app and tap your profile picture (or initial) in the top-right corner. 2. Choose Photos settings, then tap Backup. 3. Tap Back up device folders. 4. Find Screenshots in the list and turn its toggle off. New screenshots will stop uploading immediately.
The steps are nearly identical on iPhone: open the app, tap your profile picture, then Photos settings, Backup, and Back up device folders, and switch off Screenshots. If Google Photos is your main backup, this single toggle is the cleanest fix on either platform.
What Happens to Screenshots You’ve Already Backed Up
Turning off the toggle only affects future screenshots; anything already uploaded stays in your library. If you want a clean slate, search ‘screenshots’ in Google Photos, select the ones you no longer need, and delete them, remembering that this also removes them from any synced devices.
Switching the folder off doesn’t lock you out either. You can still manually upload any individual screenshot worth keeping by long-pressing it and choosing Back up, so you stay in control of exactly what reaches the cloud.
Tips and Common Mistakes
While you’re in Back up device folders, switch off other noisy folders too, like WhatsApp, Download, and Instagram, if you don’t want those images in your timeline.
Don’t confuse this with turning off backup entirely. Toggling the master Backup switch off stops your real photos from syncing, so only disable the individual Screenshots folder.
If your storage is still tight afterward, Google Photos’ built-in Manage storage tool flags large videos and blurry shots you can clear in a couple of taps.
Explore more: more practical tech how-tos on GTWebs, free up storage on Android without deleting your photos.
Google Photos screenshot backup FAQs
Will turning off screenshot backup delete my screenshots?
No. It only stops future screenshots from uploading. Anything already backed up stays until you delete it manually, and the screenshots on your phone are untouched.
Does this work on iPhone too?
Yes. The Google Photos steps are the same on iOS: profile picture, then Photos settings, Backup, Back up device folders, and turn off Screenshots.
Why are screenshots filling up my Google storage?
Because the Screenshots device folder backs up by default. Each screenshot counts against your shared 15 GB of Google storage until you turn the folder off or delete them.
Can I still back up one important screenshot?
Yes. Open it in Google Photos and tap Back up to upload just that one, even with the folder turned off.
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Photo: Alejandro Escamilla alejandroescamilla / CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
