How to Upload Photos to Google Drive (Computer, iPhone, Android)

Google Drive is a good home for photos you need to share or keep with your business files: product shots, event photos, headshots for a press kit, or images a designer needs. It's not the same as Google Photos, though, and mixing the two up is where most of the confusion starts.

Google Drive or Google Photos?

	Google Drive	Google Photos
Best for	Organising photos in folders with other files	Backing up your whole camera roll
Upload	Manual, file by file or by folder	Automatic backup from your phone
Sharing	Folder links with view or edit access	Albums and shared libraries
Storage	Shares your Google Account storage	Shares your Google Account storage

If you want every photo on your phone backed up automatically, that's a job for Google Photos. If you want a folder called Client shoot with twenty selected images to send to someone, that's Drive.

How to upload photos to Google Drive from a computer

1. Go to drive.google.com and open the folder you want the photos in.
2. Click New at the top left.
3. Choose File upload to pick individual photos, or Folder upload to upload a whole folder.
4. Select the photos and click Open. A progress box shows at the bottom right.

Quicker still: open the Drive folder in your browser and drag photos straight into it from your desktop.

How to upload photos from an iPhone

1. Open the Google Drive app.
2. Tap Add (the plus button).
3. Tap Upload, then choose your photos.
4. Tap Location to pick the folder they should go into.
5. Tap Upload.

How to upload photos from an Android phone

1. Open the Google Drive app.
2. Tap Add, then Upload.
3. Choose the photos you want and confirm.

Big batches of photos use a lot of data. In the Android app you can go to Menu, Settings and turn on Transfer files only over Wi-Fi so uploads wait until you're connected.

The catch: Drive for desktop no longer backs up to Google Photos

If you used to rely on Drive for desktop to send your photo folders to Google Photos automatically, that's changed. Google's help page says backup to Google Photos is no longer available in Drive for desktop: new backup folders stopped being configurable from 15 June, and support ended on 10 August. Photos that were already backed up stay in Google Photos. To keep backing up from your computer, you now choose your folders in the Google Photos interface instead.

Uploading photos into Drive itself, by dragging them into the Google Drive folder, still works exactly as before.

Things to know before you upload a lot of photos

• Storage counts against you. Every photo you upload uses space in your Drive, even if you put it in a folder someone else owns.
• Upload dates aren't photo dates. Google notes that Drive sets the creation time to the moment you uploaded, so don't rely on Drive's dates to sort old photos by when they were taken.
• Keep the app open on your phone until a big upload finishes, to be safe.
• Name your folders well before uploading, so you're not reorganising hundreds of files afterwards.

Sharing the photos once they're uploaded

1. Right-click the folder in Drive and choose Share.
2. Add people by email, or change General access to anyone with the link.
3. Choose Viewer if they only need to see and download, Editor if they need to add photos too.

If your photos live in Google Photos and you're having trouble there, see my guide to Google Photos stuck on preparing backup.

Moving photos from an iPhone to a computer first

Sometimes the easier route is to get photos onto your computer first, sort them, then upload only the ones you need. If that's you, my guide to getting iPhone photos onto a Mac covers the quickest ways.

Organising photos once they're in Drive

Unlike Google Photos, Drive doesn't group photos by date or face, so structure matters. Use one folder per shoot, event or product, and include the date or client name in the folder name, for example Spring launch product shots. Inside, keep originals and edited versions in separate subfolders so nobody sends the wrong file to print.

If you share a folder with a photographer or designer, give them Editor access so they can add files, and switch them to Viewer once the job's finished. That keeps your folder tidy and stops accidental deletions months later.

When uploads get stuck

1. Check your internet connection, and try Wi-Fi rather than mobile data for large batches.
2. Make sure you have enough free storage in your Google Account.
3. Upload in smaller batches rather than hundreds of photos at once.
4. On a phone, keep the Drive app open until the upload completes.
5. On a computer, try a different browser or use Drive for desktop instead.

My verdict

Use Google Drive for photos you want organised in folders and shared with clients or collaborators, and Google Photos for automatic backup of everything. Uploading to Drive is simple: New, File upload on a computer, or Add, Upload in the app. Just remember that Drive for desktop no longer feeds Google Photos, that every image uses your storage, and that Drive's dates show when you uploaded rather than when you took the shot.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my photo upload to Google Drive stuck?

Check your connection and storage, upload in smaller batches and keep the app open until it finishes.

How do I upload photos to Google Drive from my phone?

Open the Google Drive app, tap Add, then Upload, choose the photos, pick a folder and tap Upload.

Do photos in Google Drive show up in Google Photos?

Not automatically. They're separate services, and Drive for desktop no longer backs up to Google Photos.

Do photos uploaded to Drive use my storage?

Yes. Uploads use space in your Drive, even when you upload into someone else's folder.

Can I upload a whole folder of photos?

Yes. On a computer, click New, then Folder upload, or drag the folder into Drive.

Why are my photo dates wrong in Google Drive?

Drive sets the creation time to when you uploaded the file, not when the photo was taken.