How do I stop Google backup?

Last reviewed: October 14, 2026 · Markdown version

"Google backup" is usually one of three separate switches, and turning one off leaves the other two running: backup in the Google Photos app, your Android phone's own Backup by Google One, and Drive for desktop on a computer. They also differ in what happens to copies already uploaded. Switching off Android's device backup deletes that backup; switching off Photos backup does not remove a single photo already in your account. Each section below quotes Google's own help page, read today.

Google Photos backup, on the phone

This is the one most people mean. In the Google Photos app on Android, Google's steps are: tap your profile picture or initial at the top right, tap Photos settings, then Backup, and "Turn Backup on or off" (Back up photos & videos (Android), Google Photos Help, read 14 October 2026). The iPhone version of the page gives the same route through Google Photos settings and Backup (Back up photos & videos (iPhone & iPad), Google Photos Help, read 14 October 2026).

You may not need to switch it off completely. On Android, the same page warns that "When you turn “Backup” on, your chosen device folders are automatically backed up too, not only your camera", and lets you turn backup off for individual folders under Back up device folders. If one chat app's images are what fills the account, that folder toggle is the narrower fix. The page also says how to keep backup from coming back for photos you remove from Google Photos: "To ensure that your photo or video isn't backed up to Google Photos again and your local copy isn't deleted, leave backup off."

Your Android phone's device backup

Separate from Photos, Android backs up the phone itself to your Google Account. Google lists what that covers: "Apps and app data", "Call history", "Contacts", "Device settings" and "SMS and MMS messages". To stop it, Google's steps are Settings, Google, All services, then under "Backup and restore" tap Backup and "Turn off Backup by Google One" (Back up or restore data on your Android device, Android Help, read 14 October 2026). Google notes that "Some of these steps work only on Android 9 and up"; if the path is not there on your phone, searching Settings for "Backup" is the quickest way to the same screen.

This switch has a consequence the Photos one does not. Google One's backup page is direct about it: "If you turn off backup on your device, your backups are deleted. Photos and videos that you previously backed up remain saved in Google Photos." It also says a backup is erased if "You don't use your device for 57 days" (Back up your device, Google One Help, read 14 October 2026). Before you switch it off on a phone you are about to reset or replace, that deletion is the reason to wait.

On an iPhone, through the Google One app

On iPhone, Google One's sync settings hand photos over to Google Photos: the steps end with "In Google Photos, under “Backup settings,” turn on Back up & sync", and contacts and calendar each have their own sync (Back up your device (iPhone & iPad), Google One Help, read 14 October 2026). That iPhone page describes turning sync on; it gives no separate steps for turning it off. For photos, the Backup switch in Google Photos settings above is the documented control.

On a computer: Drive for desktop

If the uploads come from a Windows PC or Mac, Drive for desktop is the source. To stop one folder, Google's troubleshooting page says to open Drive for desktop, "Go to Preferences select the folder and uncheck Drive and/or Photos" (Fix problems in Drive for desktop, Google Drive Help, read 14 October 2026). For a break rather than a stop, Settings then Pause syncing halts background activity including "Back ups to Google Photos", and Resume syncing starts it again (Customize Drive for desktop settings, Google Drive Help, read 14 October 2026).

That settings page also dates a change: "Starting August 10, 2026: Drive for desktop will end support for Google Photos backup", and it says folders backed up to Photos need to be chosen again in Google Photos to continue, with "Any items previously backed up" staying in Google Photos. Neither Drive page says whether unchecking a folder removes files already uploaded from it, so check your Drive before you delete anything locally.

What stopping does to your Google storage

Stopping a backup stops new uploads; it does not hand back space. Google's storage page counts both "Original quality photos and videos backed up to Google Photos" and "All data managed through the Android backup settings" against the shared quota of "up to 15 GB" (How your Google storage works, Google One Help, read 14 October 2026). Put together with the Google One page above, the device backup is the only one of the three whose existing copy goes away when you switch it off. Photos you already backed up keep their space until you delete them, which is what the Google Photos storage page is for, and Drive files the same, covered on Google Drive is full.

One check before any of this: if the warning that sent you here was about the phone's own storage, a backup was not the cause. This page tells the two apart.