How to Upload to Google Photos on iPhone or iPad

Last Updated: August 23, 2019 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to upload photos to your Google Photos account on an iPhone or iPad. You can upload photos to your Google Photos account manually, or you can turn on Back up & Sync to automatically backup all the photos and videos on your phone.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Uploading Photos Manually

1
Open Google Photos. It's the app with the multi-colored pinwheel.
- If you don't have Google Photos you can download it from the App Store and sign in with your Google account.
2
Tap a photo. Scroll through the "Photos" tab to find the picture you want to upload and then tap it to select it. This opens the photo or video in a preview window. To select multiple items, long-press on a photo and then tap the other items you want to select.
- Photos or videos that are not already uploaded will have a cloud symbol with a line through it in the bottom-right corner
  .
Advertisement
3
Tap ⋯. It's in the top-right of the screen. This opens a pop-up menu at the bottom of the screen.
4
Tap Back up. It's at the top of the pop-up menu. The photo or video you selected will be uploaded to your Google Photos account.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Turning on Back up & Sync

1
Open Google Photos. It's the app with the multi-colored pinwheel.
- If you don't have Google Photos you can download it from the App Store and sign in with your Google account.
2
Tap ☰. It's in the top-left of the screen. This opens a slide-out menu from the left side of the screen.
3
Tap
. It's the gear icon at the top-right of the side menu, next to "Google Photos" at the top.
4
Tap Back up & Sync. It's at the top of the Settings page.
5
Tap the switch for "Back up & Sync" to the 'ON' position
. The switch will turn blue when it's in the 'ON' position. This enables the automatic upload of photos and videos that you take with your phone to your Google Photos account.