Protect your photos
Set a recovery contact for the account holding your only photo backup
A recovery contact helps you get back into your account if you're ever locked out. How to set one up in a few minutes.
Protect your photos
Keep another copy. Keep your peace of mind.
Understand backups and learn how to check that your important photographs are really there.
Protect your photos
Recover photos from a phone that won't turn on
If your photos were backing up to the cloud, a phone that won't turn on doesn't mean they're lost. How to access them from another device.
Protect your photos
What to do before selling or handing down an old phone with photos on it
Confirm your backup is complete, then remove your accounts and factory reset the phone, so your photos are safe and the next owner can't see them.
Protect your photos
Check whether a 'backup' app is actually syncing or actually backing up
Syncing and backing up aren't the same thing. How to check which one an app is really doing, and why it matters if you delete something by accident.
Protect your photos
Back up photos to an external drive as well as the cloud
Why cloud backup alone isn't enough, and how to also copy your photos onto an external drive for a genuinely independent second copy.
Protect your photos
What happens to your photo backup if you cancel a cloud subscription?
What typically happens to photos stored over a free storage limit after cancelling a paid cloud plan, and how to check before you cancel.
Protect your photos
Turn on two-factor authentication for the account your photo backup lives in
Two-factor authentication is a five-minute change that stops most account takeovers, protecting the account that holds your photo backup.
Protect your photos
Restore photos from an Android phone's backup and check it worked
How to bring your photos back onto a new or reset Android phone, and confirm the restore actually worked.
Protect your photos
Back up an Android phone's photos automatically
Turn on Google Photos' automatic backup so every new photo is protected without you having to remember.
Protect your photos
Check your backup covers videos as well as photos
Videos use far more storage than photos and can have their own limits. How to check your backup actually covers them properly.
Protect your photos
What changes about your photo backup if you switch phone brands
Switching from iPhone to Android or back can mean an extra export step, depending on which backup service you're using. What to check first.
Protect your photos
Keep a second, independent copy of your most irreplaceable photos
Why cloud backup alone isn't enough, and how to keep a genuinely independent second copy of your most important photos.
Protect your photos
Protect old photos from a house move: what to back up before you pack
Photo albums and hard drives can be lost or damaged during a move. What to digitise and back up before moving day.
Protect your photos
Recover photos after accidentally deleting an entire album
Most services keep deleted albums recoverable in a Trash or Recently Deleted folder for a limited time. How to find and restore them.
Protect your photos
What to do if you suspect a backup has been silently failing
How to check the actual date a backup last ran, and the common silent causes behind a stalled photo backup.
Protect your photos
Check that a paid cloud storage plan is actually renewing, not lapsing
How to check your billing settings directly, since an expired card can quietly lapse a paid storage plan without you noticing.
Protect your photos
Protect photos from being overwritten by an automatic cloud sync
How an automatic sync can occasionally overwrite an edited photo with an older version, and how to avoid it.
Protect your photos
What happens to shared photos when someone leaves a shared album
What typically happens to your own saved photos and your access when someone leaves a shared photo album.
Protect your photos
Open and check a Google Photos export in Windows
Unpack your Takeout ZIP files, keep accompanying information and check a recognisable sample.
Protect your photos
Download a few iCloud originals on a Windows computer
Save a small selection from iCloud.com and check the photos and videos in Windows File Explorer.
Protect your photos
What should you check in a photo backup?
Choose a useful recovery sample and record what your photo-backup check actually proves.
Protect your photos
Recover a photo from Google Photos on a computer
Check the correct account’s bin, restore an available item and open it in the collection.
Protect your photos
Recover a recently deleted photo on your iPhone
Restore an item still available in Recently Deleted and check it back in your library.
Protect your photos
A photo is missing: where should you look first?
Narrow the search to one photo, check the right account and preserve every possible copy.