- A scheduling feature has been detected for Google Photos backups
- At the moment, the feature is not available in the app.
- Could give users more say over when backups can run
For many users on both Android and iOS, Google Photos will be the app of choice for backing up photos and videos to the cloud, and now it looks like those users will have a little more control over how the backups are actually done.
As discovered by Android Authority, the latest version of Google Photos for Android includes hidden code that points to a revamp of the backup settings page within the app, to bring it in line with the expressive UI elements introduced with Android 16.
Also mentioned is a new feature: a backup schedule. There’s no information on what this is or how it might work, but it looks like you’ll be able to choose when your files are synced to the cloud for safekeeping.
Maybe you can run backups on a daily or weekly schedule, for example, or maybe you can specify certain times when backups don’t run (if you have a limited Internet connection, for example, you might want to pause backups).
Coming soon
The way it works right now is that when automatic backups are turned on in Google Photos, your photos and videos sync as long as there’s an internet connection, although you can set this to only happen on Wi-Fi (non-cellular) connections.
That’s really all the customization you get: automatic backup is on or off (you can also run backups manually). Advanced users would certainly appreciate having a few more options to manage when backups actually run.
While the code for this is visible within the Google Photos app if you look closely, it is not currently active. It’s unclear when this feature will launch, but if preparations are being made, it’ll likely be sooner rather than later.
Presumably Google will also give us more information when this becomes available. In the meantime, look for updates to the appearance of the backup settings page in Google Photos for Android – changes are on the way.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
