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Samsung gallery how to manage backups / sync with OneDrive and Google drive

Michael 0 Reputation points
2025-07-15T05:42:16.0666667+00:00

All these backup and sync options are driving me nuts 😆. So I decided to ask for some assistance here

I have a Samsung S25+, which I really like. To manage the photos I am using Samsung gallery app, i like it better than Google photos.

For years I'm using a Synology NAS which I backup the photos to with Synology photos backup option. I do this about once a month.

Last year my phone died and I lost some pictures that I didn't back up to NAS yet. So for this reason I turned on OneDrive sync in Samsung gallery app. I dont want to pay for a subscription so it's limited to 5gb. Now, this OneDrive sync doesnt sync the whatsapp picture folders. So I have also enabled Google photos backup/sync? with Google drive.

Now I have a few issues:

  1. Pictures managed (deleted) in Samsung gallery app are not deleted in Google photos. So i need to clean up my Google photos also i gues. This is alot of hassle, double work.
  2. I like to group my personal travels and work travels into albums. And once I back them up to my NAS, there is no need to store then on OneDrive anymore. Is it possible to delete that album from OneDrive while still keeping it locally on my phone? This would save space in my OneDrive account.

Any other tips or suggestions are also welcome. I want this all to be less of a hassle.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For business | Windows
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  1. Sophie N 14,955 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-07-15T06:05:53.4366667+00:00

    Hi Michael,

    Thank you for reaching out with your detailed questions about managing backups and sync between Samsung Gallery, OneDrive, and Google Photos. Your situation is understandable given the multiple services involved, and I’m happy to provide a clear, professional explanation and practical suggestions. 

     

    Here are a few steps you can try: 

    1. Samsung Gallery and OneDrive Sync 

    Samsung Gallery offers a native feature to sync photos and albums automatically with OneDrive. When enabled, any photos you take or add to Samsung Gallery are uploaded to a dedicated Samsung Gallery folder in OneDrive. The sync is two-way deleting photos in Samsung Gallery deletes them from OneDrive and vice versa. 

    • To enable this: 
    • Open Gallery app → tap the Menu (three lines) → Settings → Sync with OneDrive → follow prompts to connect your Microsoft account. 
    • Only personal OneDrive accounts are supported (not work/school accounts). 

    However, please note: 

    • WhatsApp image folders and certain social media folders may not sync with Samsung Gallery OneDrive sync. 
    • Photos larger than 4GB won’t upload automatically.  2. Google Photos Backup/Synchronization 

    Google Photos operates independently from Samsung Gallery sync, so: 

    • Changes in Samsung Gallery (e.g., deleting photos) won’t reflect in Google Photos automatically. 
    • This means photos deleted in Samsung Gallery (or OneDrive) will remain in Google Photos unless you manually delete them there 

    Solutions and Recommendations for Your Situation 

    To address the challenges, you are facing with managing backups and sync between Samsung Gallery, OneDrive, and Google Photos, I recommend consolidating and streamlining your backup approach to reduce complexity and avoid duplicated effort. Since Samsung Gallery’s OneDrive sync offers two-way synchronization, deleting photos or albums on either platform affects the other; consequently, deleting items directly from OneDrive will also remove them from your phone’s Gallery app.  

    If you wish to free up space on OneDrive while retaining photos locally, you can temporarily disable OneDrive sync within the Gallery app before deleting cloud copies. However, this requires ensuring your photos are safely backed up to your Synology NAS or another storage medium prior to deletion to prevent data loss. Regarding Google Photos, it operates independently and does not reflect deletions made in Samsung Gallery, so the photos you remove in the Gallery app remain stored in Google Photos unless manually deleted there. To manage this, consider disabling Google Photos backup for specific folders or periodically clean up duplicates directly in Google Photos. For WhatsApp images and folders not supported by OneDrive sync, Google Photos can remain the backup solution. Monitoring storage limits closely, especially with the 5 GB OneDrive free tier, and scheduling regular Synology NAS backups will help maintain your data securely without overlap. Lastly, checking and customizing sync settings for specific folders in both OneDrive and Google Photos apps will provide finer control over which photos are backed up where, ultimately reducing hassle and wasted storage. 

    Official References for Your Convenience 

    I truly hope you understand that the initial steps I suggested may not have completely resolved the issue, as there might still be underlying causes, we haven't uncovered yet. Please know that I’m here with you every step of the way, ready to work together and do everything I can to help troubleshoot and find the best solution. 

    Please feel free to reach out if you need any further clarification or assistance setting up and managing your backups. We want to help make managing your photos as simple and smooth as possible. 

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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