Google Drive for desktop will stop syncing your photo folders to Google Photos starting today, August 10, 2026. If you have been relying on the desktop app to automatically back up photos and videos from your PC or Mac to Google Photos, that pipeline is now broken — and you need to set up an alternative before your next batch of photos goes unprotected.
The change does not affect photos already uploaded to Google Photos. Those stay exactly where they are. What ends is the automatic sync: the option in Drive for desktop’s preferences that let you tick a folder and have its contents flow into Google Photos in the background, without opening a browser.
Why Google is dropping the feature
Google has not given a detailed public explanation. The company quietly added a notice to its support pages and began blocking new folder configurations for Photos backup through Drive for desktop back on June 15. Folders configured before that date continued syncing during a transition window that closes today.
The move likely reflects Google’s push to separate Drive and Photos into distinct products with their own backup workflows, rather than maintaining a cross-product sync layer inside the desktop app.
How to back up photos from your computer now
Since Google does not offer a standalone Google Photos desktop app, the official replacement is the Google Photos website. Here is how to set it up:
- Open photos.google.com in your browser.
- Click the + button in the top-right corner.
- Select Back up folders.
- Choose the folders on your computer that contain photos and videos you want backed up.
- When prompted, click Allow (or Allow on every visit) to grant Google Photos permission to read those folders.
Google Photos will then scan the selected folders and upload new files automatically — but only while the Google Photos tab is open in your browser. Unlike the old Drive desktop integration, there is no background daemon keeping things in sync. You need to keep the tab open or revisit periodically for new photos to upload.
Consider installing the Google Photos PWA
For a slightly more app-like experience, you can install Google Photos as a Progressive Web App (PWA) from Chrome or Edge. Visit photos.google.com, click the install icon in the address bar, and the site opens in its own window. The same folder-backup workflow applies, with the same limitation: it only syncs while the window is open.
How to disable the old Drive for desktop sync
To clean up your Drive for desktop settings and avoid confusion:
- Open Google Drive for desktop.
- Go to Settings → Preferences.
- Select Folders from your computer in the left panel.
- Uncheck Back up to Google Photos for each folder listed.
- Click Done, then Save.
This will not delete any local files or cloud uploads — it simply removes the now-defunct sync configuration.
What this means for your photo workflow
The biggest downside is the loss of true background backup. The Drive desktop app ran silently, uploading new photos as soon as they appeared in a synced folder. The web-based replacement requires you to remember to keep a browser tab open — a step backwards in convenience, especially for users who import photos from cameras or SD cards to a desktop folder regularly.
If automatic, set-and-forget backup is important to you, the Google Photos mobile app on Android or iOS still offers genuine background syncing for photos taken on your phone. For desktop photos, though, Google’s current answer is the browser-based workaround above — or third-party tools like Nextcloud or Immich if you want self-hosted alternatives that do not depend on Google’s product decisions.
Sources: gHacks, How-To Geek
