How to Upload Photos to Google Drive?

Google Photos and Google Drive are perhaps the most used services of the search engine giant by the users. These two services are the best tools to save some space on our local machine. But do you know that Google Drive can be used to back up your photos, as well? Yes, Drive can be used as a substitute for Photos and is not a new thing among users who are big Google fans. Do you know how to upload photos to Google Drive? If not, we will learn today how to move photos from Google Photos to Google Drive. But before that, let us get our basics cleared.

How to Upload Photos to Google Drive from Android

Follow the below steps to know how to upload photos to Google Drive from Android.

1. Begin by opening the Google Drive app on your Android device.
2. Click on the + sign present on the right-hand corner.
3. Next, a menu will appear with “Create New” as the title. Click on the Upload option to get started.
4. Users will be taken to their local storage. Select the photos you wish to upload.
5. To make sure that it has been copied on Google Drive, click on the “view the uploaded files” option.

In addition to this, you can also try one more method, which can save time. The above method can consume a lot of time when it comes to uploading a lot of pics. Use the below method to save much more time.

1. Begin by opening the Google Drive app on your Android device.
2. Click on the three vertical lines present in the top left corner.
3. Click on the Settings option.
4. Go to Auto Add and turn on the “add your photos to Google Drive” option.
5. This will automatically upload all the photos as well as new photos that you click.

How to Upload Photos to Google Drive from Your iPhone

Follow the below steps to know how to upload photos to Google Drive from your iPhone.

1. Begin by opening the Google Drive app on your iPhone.
2. Click on the + sign present on the right-hand corner.
3. Next, a menu will appear with “Create New” as the title. Click on the Upload option to get started.
4. Users will be taken to their local storage. Select the photos you wish to upload.

5. After uploading the pics, users can quickly find their images with the "Locate" link that will come on the screen at the bottom.

Difference Between Google Photos and Google Drive

Before we begin on how to save photos in Google Drive, let us know the difference between these Google siblings. Both these apps are part of a wide range of services offered by Google. Both the apps can be used to sync videos and photos. Then, what is the difference? Well, let us learn in brief about the difference between Google Photos and Google Drive.

User Interface

The interface of Google Drive is similar to any file manager that you can find in any smartphone. Obviously, Drive is used for the management of different files and folders. In the same manner, the interface of Google Photos is similar to any gallery app of a smartphone since the main purpose of the app is photo management.

Storage

When it comes to storage, Google offers free 15 GB of space to each user at the time of the creation of a Google account. Now, this 15 GB of space is mutual for all of its services, including Google Photos and Google Drive. Hence, users cannot find a major difference here. But, when observed carefully, there is a factor that can be used as a differentiator on the common grounds of storage. The maximum limit for a photo size that can be uploaded on Google Photos is 16 MB. This means any pic beyond 16 MB in size cannot be uploaded. When it comes to videos, the quality of the video should not be beyond 1080P, else the video will not be synced. On the other hand, Google Drive supports every file type and it can be uploaded without any restrictions.

Supported File Types

Since Google Drive is more of a file manager, the app supports different types of data including photos and videos. Google Photos is a photo gallery app that supports only photos and videos.

File Organization

Images in Google Photos can be displayed similarly to any gallery application. In the same manner, users cannot move files from one folder to another in the Google Photos app. On the other hand, Google Drive can be used to organize different file types systematically, similar to any other file manager.

How to Share Photos on Google Drive

Now that you know the difference between the two apps, it is time to know how to share photos on google drive. Users can do this using the below methods.

Manually Transfer the Files from Google Photos to Google Drive

Manually transferring the files from Google Photos to Google Drive is the most common method used by users to upload photos to Google Drive from Google Photos. All you have to do is download the files from Google Photos on your local machine and then upload it to Google Drive.

In order to use this method, users will need to install both apps on their devices. On smartphones, the apps can be downloaded from Google Play Store or Apple App Store. On a desktop, a browser can be sufficient to use this method.

On the other hand, doing so is a very tedious and time-consuming process. It seems normal when it comes to downloading and uploading a handful of files. But what if you need to transfer a thousand or more files at a time. This will be a very time-consuming process. In addition to this, your local machine must have an ample amount of storage in order to download the files before uploading.

Transfer Files by Adjusting the Google Drive Settings

Since the above method is very time-consuming and tedious, here is an easy method that will help you know how to upload photos to Google Drive from iPhone from Google Photos.

1. Begin by going to Google Drive.
2. Log n using your Google credentials.
3. Now, click Settings and go to the “Create a Google Photos folder” option.
4. Enable the “Automatically put your Google Photos into a folder in My Drive” option.

FAQs

Does Google Drive compress photos?

Yes. Google Drive compresses photos and other media types. Compressing files assists in reducing the size of your data and allows for smooth and easy transfer of data. Users can compress one or more files at the same time. While using Google Drive, users can select the data they wish to include in their compressed folder.

Does Google Drive degrade quality?

When compressing a video file, this is certainly a question that comes into the mind of a number of people. Obviously, Google Drive does not degrade the video quality. It just offers various resolutions such as 360p, 720p, and 1080p, among others for your video. Next, users can preview it speedily and smoothly without consuming much Internet bandwidth.

Does Google Drive have unlimited storage?

Google offers its users 15 GB of free storage at the beginning. This space is shared all over Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. When you upgrade to Google One, the premium service, the total storage of users elevates to almost 100 GB or can go beyond this depending on what plan users opt for.

What is the maximum storage for Google Drive?

Google offers its users 15 GB of free storage at the beginning. This space is shared all over Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. Now, this storage is better than its rivals—2 GB for Dropbox and 10 Gb for Box.

Is paying for Google Drive worth it?

Seeing the different players in the market and the free storage they offer; Google Drive is definitely worth using. It offers 15 GB of storage, which is sufficient for people for their daily needs. As far as the question remains about subscription, if you have an abundance of files to upload or if your tasks require a lot more space, then subscribing to Google One is definitely worth shelling the penny for.

Conclusion

Having said that, you just had a look at different ways to know how to upload photos to Google Drive. You saw how to save photos in Google Drive on Android. We saw two methods to do so. In addition to this, you also had a look at how to upload photos to Google Drive on iPhone. Next, you saw the difference between Google Photos and Google drive and saw a couple of methods to know how to move photos from Google Photos to Google Drive.