How to Download Photos from Google Photos

Google Photos is one of the world’s most popular photo storage and sharing services. Android phones tend to come with Google Photos pre-installed on the home screen and people often use it instead of the Android-native gallery app.

Still, you may want some photos saved on your actual device. Downloading photos and videos from Google Photos is entirely possible and rather straightforward. Here’s how to do it.

Download Photos on Android/iOS Devices

Here’s how to download photos from Google Photos on your Android/iOS phone or tablet. First of all, you need to make sure that the Google Photos app is installed on the device. If not, go to Google Play/App Store and download it. Once downloaded and installed, tap the app’s icon to use it. If you’re prompted to log in, use your Google credentials to do it.

Once in Google Photos, find the photo/video that you wish to save and select it. Then, tap the three-dot icon and select Save to device or Download from the menu. This will save the photo/video on your Android/iOS phone or tablet.

Download Photos on Desktop

Downloading photos and videos to the computer is a very common thing. You might want to edit the videos, backup the files, and so on. The approach here is somewhat different from mobile/tablet versions of the Google Photos app. In fact, you won’t even use the app but just the website.

Go to photos.google.com and select the photo that you want to save. Open it and then navigate to the upper-right corner of the screen, click the three-dot icon and select Download. This will save the photo(s) that you’ve selected to your computer.

Downloading Multiple Photos from Google Photos

Naturally, you can download more than one photo from Google Photos. To do this, simply select multiple photos, whatever device you’re using, navigate to the three-dot icon, click/tap it, and select Download. This will automatically download all the selected photos to your device.

Another way to select and download multiple photos is by selecting them by date. Above each series of photos that you took on a day, you have a date they were taken on. There should be a checkmark that you can select near that date. Selecting that checkmark will automatically check all the photos taken on that particular day. Click the three-dot icon and select Download to save all photos to your device.

Finally, there’s a way to download the entirety of your Google Photos content. Bear in mind that this won’t delete the content from Google Photos; it’s just going to download it to your device.

First, go to this page. You’ll see a list of all your things Google-related. Towards the top of the list, on the right side, select Deselect all. Then, scroll down until you find the Google Photos entry. Alternatively, use the browser search option to find the entry. Then, check the box to the entry’s right. Followed by selecting Next, located at the bottom of the list.

Now, if you wish to export the photos at this time only, leave the Export once option selected. Alternatively, if you want the export to occur every two months for a year, select that option.

Now, select the file type and other settings, and go to Create export. Keep in mind that this export can take for hours, even days, depending on how much content we’re talking about. Once it’s done, you’ll be notified and you’ll be able to download these files.

Downloading from Google Photos

There are multiple ways to download files from Google Photos. Whether you’re doing it from a smartphone, tablet, or a PC, it can definitely be done. You can also download and export multiple photos at once.

Which method did you go with? Did you use the PC, your smartphone, or your tablet? Did you run into any inconvenience? Tell us all about it in the comments below.