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How to Backup Android Photos to Dropbox & Google Photos

-- Friday, July 17, 2015
Nowadays, people like to take pictures in high quality with their Android smartphones. As the number of pictures stored in mobile device becomes larger, the internal storage gets smaller, which may slow down the operating speed of the device. Besides, accidentally delete precious images or lost them owing to unknown system problems usually occurs. To tackle the above issue, I suggest you to back up important pictures regularly from Android phones to Dropbox or Google Photos app. In the following article, we'll introduce you how to back up Android pictures.

Part 1 Backup Pictures from Android to Dropbox

Dropbox is a cross-platform app which enables you to safely keep pictures, videos and other files in and you can get to them from all your devices. Moreover, you can also share images or other files, folders with different people.

Step 1 Sign in Dropbox
Download and install Dropbox app on your Samsung Galaxy, LG, HTC, Sony Xperia, etc from Google Play. After installation, run the app. If you've got an account, just enter the email address and password to sign in. If not, tap the "Sign Up” button to create a new account.

Dropbox Interface Sign in Dropbox

Step 2 Upload Pictures to Dropbox
When successfully logged in, click into "Photos” panel. Hit the "TURN ON” button to start backing up pictures from Android device to cloud storage.

Trun on Camera Upload Backup Android Pictures with Dropbox

Part 2 Backup Images with Google Photos

Google Photos enables you to back up and manages pictures from Android devices. It provides unlimited cloud storage for everything you shoot. Since the first time you use Google Photos, whenever you shot a new photo, it will be automatically backed up to the cloud storage. Follow the steps below and do Android pictures backup.

Step 1 Download and Install Google Photos
Search for Google Photos app in Google Play store. When found, just download and set it up on your mobile device.

Step 2 Run and Sign in the Photos
Launch the app in your Android device. In the main interface, open the menu at the left side. Click the "Sign in" button to log in Google account. After that, tap the "Settings" button and turn on "Backup & Sync" option.
Note: If you want to sign in Google account to share pictures on Google Photos, you need update the Google Play Service into the latest version to enable all features of Photos.

Sign in Google Account Switch on Backup & Sync Option

Step 3 Choose Images Folders to Backup
After you switching on the "Backup & Sync" function, click into the "Choose folder to backup" interface, where all the folder contains picture files stored in your phone will be listed. Tick those you need, the software will start backing them up. When the process done, you can move back the main interface and check all the backup photos by day, month or comfortable view.

Choose Folders to Backup View Backup Pictures

Step 4 View Backup Pictures on Web
Open the Google Photos website and sign in the Google account that you've backed up the pictures. Then you can see all the images you transferred from Android to the app are shown in the web.

View Backup in Photos on Google Web

Part 3 Backup Photos to Google Drive & Dropbox with Android File Manager

To install Dropbox or Google Photo app on your Android phone, you can separately upload all pictures from Android to the corresponding cloud service. Have you imagined that to back up Android photos to both Dropbox and Google Drive with only one software? Android File Manager can meet your need. It can not only help you back up files from Android to cloud service, but to transfer data between Android and Mac.

Download Mac

Step 1 Download the software on your iMac/Macbook. Run it after installation. Click the name of the software at the upper-left corner to select "Preference" in the drop-down list.

Android File Manager Preference

Step 2 Press the "Integration" button in the "Preference" interface, you will see Dropbox & Google Drive shown in the window. You can sign in your Dropbox and Google Drive account one by one by hitting the "Link Account" button. Here we will take Google Drive as example.

Sign in Dropbox and Google Drive

Step 3 Type in the correct Gmail address and password to login your Google account.

Login Google Drive & Dropbox

Then, the software will ask you to allow it access to the files stored in your cloud service. Tap "Allow" button to enable the software to view and manage cloud service data.

Connect Dropbox or Google Drive to Android File Manager

Step 4 When you successfully related Dropbox and Google Drive to the software, you can check them at the top of the two panels. By clicking either of it, all the files saved in it will be displayed in the corresponding panel. Connect your Android device to the software via USB cable, with USB debugging enabled. And hit the name of the plug-in device in another panel, you can now back up or transfer photos from Android to the cloud service easily. Select the pictures you want and click the "Move" button at the bottom-middle to complete it.

Back up Android Pictures to Dropbox or Google Drive

To Make a Conclusion:
The above three apps are very useful and reliable. You can choose any of them for different need. Here are some tips for you:
1. Google Photos supports you to back up pictures in high quality. Also, you can get a 15GB free storage for original images. Since you turn on the "Back up & Sync" option, if you take new pictures, they will be automatically upload to the Google Photos by category. To enhance the backup photos, you can turn to the editing tools provided on Google Photo web as well. Moreover, it enables you to share photos with your friends on Google+.

2. Apart from photos, if you want to upload other files like PDF, notification, etc. to cloud service, Dropbox is a better choice. However, Dropbox only offers 2GB free storage.

3. Android File Transfer can help you back up all kinds data stored in Android smartphone to Dropbox and Google Drive. Also, it works as a bridge between Android and Mac, supporting you to also transfer files between Android and Mac.


Ivy Bruce

Ivy Bruce is the Founder and Editorial Director at Recovery-Android Studio. You can also find her on Google+ and Twitter.