Google Photos is an excellent tool for automatically backing up your camera roll to the cloud. However, if you use an Android device (particularly those made by Samsung), you might notice that every single screenshot you take is also being uploaded to your Google Photos account. Over time, these screenshots can clutter your photo library and eat up your valuable Google One storage space.
This happens because some Android manufacturers save screenshots directly into the main “DCIM” (Digital Camera Images) folder, which Google Photos monitors by default. Fortunately, you can change this behavior in the Google Photos settings.
How to Stop Screenshots from Syncing to Google Photos
To prevent your screenshots from being backed up, you need to tell Google Photos to ignore the specific folder where your screenshots are stored.
- Open the Google Photos app on your Android phone.
- Tap your Profile Picture in the top right corner of the screen.
- Select Photos settings from the menu.
- Tap on Backup (or Backup & sync on older versions).
- Scroll down and tap on Back up device folders.
- You will see a list of all the image folders on your phone (e.g., WhatsApp Images, Downloads, Screenshots). Locate the folder named Screenshots.
- Toggle the switch next to Screenshots to the Off position (the switch will turn gray).
What If the Screenshots Folder Isn’t Listed?
If you own a Samsung Galaxy device, the “Screenshots” folder might not appear in the “Back up device folders” list. This is because Samsung places the Screenshots folder inside the main DCIM folder, forcing Google Photos to treat them as regular camera photos.
To fix this on a Samsung phone, you need to change where the phone saves screenshots in the system settings:
- Open your phone’s main Settings app.
- Scroll down and tap on Advanced features.
- Tap on Screenshots and screen recorder.
- Look for a setting to change the Save location. Create a new folder outside of the DCIM directory (for example, in the “Pictures” folder) and select it.
- Now, open Google Photos again and ensure that the new folder is toggled Off in the “Back up device folders” menu.