Credit: Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google Photos is preparing a new battery-preserving feature that will limit frequent backups.
- We’ve discovered a new “Optimize backup for battery life” setting in the app.
- When enabled, this setting changes how Google Photos behaves in the background, allowing it to back up less often when you’re not actively using the app.
For years, backup controls in Google Photos have primarily focused on data usage. Users can choose whether backups happen over mobile data or Wi-Fi, limit uploads on cellular networks, or pause syncing altogether. There has been very little in the way of power-focused controls for Google Photos backups. If the app decides to back up aggressively in the background and that drains your phone’s battery, your only real option today is to turn backups off entirely. That could change very soon.