Google Photos can lead to the deletion of images even when we think we have stored a copy locally, on our smartphone’s memory. This came to the fore after numerous online reports made by various users, who saw photos lost forever from their Android smartphone. The story was then picked up by the tech information site Android Authoritywho explained that the phenomenon does not originate either from a bug or from a “hidden” behavior of the application developed by the Mountain View giant. Rather, it is a file management logic that the app applies consistently, albeit in a way that is not very intuitive for the average user.
The crux of the matter is this: Google Photos does not consider images as independent files scattered across the phone, but as elements of a unified and synchronized library. When you act on an image from this library, the app looks for all copies that it recognizes as the same content and acts on them in a coordinated way. If you are not aware of this logic, you could convince yourself that you have secured a photo which in reality remains linked to the original and which, if deleted, leads to the deletion of all related copies. It is important to make backups to avoid unwanted deletions of our contents on Google Photos.
What are the risks with Google Photos and why does the app eliminate file duplicates
Google Photos is the reference app for image management on Android and it doesn’t just show photos: it organizes, edits and, above all, synchronizes contents with the cloud, i.e. with Google’s remote servers. The cloud is an online storage space that allows you to find the same images on multiple devices connected to the same account. This setting is extremely convenient, but it changes the way photos are treated compared to traditional management based on individual files. When we copy an image to another folder on the phone using Google Photos’ sharing features, we can actually see two physical copies in different directories, such as the camera folder and the downloads folder. From the user’s perspective they appear to be separate files, but to the app they remain duplicates linked to the same library item.
The problem emerges when we decide to delete a photo from Google Photos thinking of removing only one of the copies made. Acting through Google Photos, the app interprets the action as a desire to delete that image from the device as a whole and then searches for and deletes all local versions that it recognizes as identical. This behavior has been reported by several Android users, including owners of Pixel smartphones, and may especially surprise those who are used to working directly with the file system, i.e. with the phone’s folder and file structure. In these cases, we are led to consider each file as an autonomous entity, while Google Photos “reasons” for synchronized contents.
The different elimination options contribute to making the situation more delicate. When we move a photo to the trash, the app shows a warning indicating removal from all folders, but if we choose “Delete from device” this message does not appear.
How to avoid deleting images with Google Photos
To avoid any problems, external backup to Google Photos remains the best strategy to adopt. This is why you would do well to get into the habit of making a separate backup from the Google cloud, for example on a computer or on a hard disk, outside the synchronization ecosystem of the Google Photos app. In this way it is possible to peacefully use the advantages of Google Photos without running the risk of unwanted loss of your memories.
Backup is one backup copy of data (photos, documents, chats) stored in a different place from the original device. It is not a simple duplication, but a fundamental “spare tyre”: it is used to recover information in the event of loss, theft, breakage of the device or cyber attacks.
