# Google Photos Backup Without Google Takeout

> How to connect Blober to Google Photos. Download your photos and videos at original quality without Google Takeout. No API keys required.

Google Photos is Google's photo and video storage service. Blober connects to your Google Photos library through a browser-based login - no API keys or developer setup required.

> **Caution**
>
> Google Photos support is currently in **early access**. Only downloading is available right now. Google may throttle downloads, especially for large photos and videos, so Blober prioritizes reliable transfers over maximum speed. Upload support will follow in a future release.

## Capabilities

* ✅ Browse photos and videos
* ✅ Download files (original quality)
* ✅ View file metadata (filename, date, dimensions, camera, file size)
* 🚧 Upload files (coming soon)
* ❌ Delete media
* ❌ Create folders (Google Photos organizes automatically)
* ❌ Move/rename files

## Prerequisites

* A [Google account](https://accounts.google.com/) with Google Photos enabled
* Photos or videos in your Google Photos library

## Setup

1. Go to **Workflows** => **New Workflow**
2. Select **Google Photos** as a source
3. Click **Sign in with Google**
4. A browser window opens - sign in with your Google account
5. Once signed in, the window closes and Blober is ready
6. Start browsing or transferring files

> **Tip**
>
> After signing in, Blober keeps a background session to communicate with Google Photos. If Google's cookies expire, Blober will open a login window so you can sign in again - no data is lost.

## Multiple Accounts

Blober supports connecting multiple Google accounts at the same time.

1. In a workflow, open the **Google Account** dropdown
2. Click **+ New Account** to connect another Google account
3. A new login window opens - sign in with a different account
4. Switch between accounts using the dropdown

Each account maintains its own session independently. You can run workflows against different accounts in parallel.

Use **↻** to refresh the account list.

## File Organization

Google Photos files are organized by date and filename:

```plaintext
/2026-01-23/IMG_1234.jpg
/2026-01-23/VID_5678.mp4
/2025-12-15/PXL_20251215_143022.jpg
```

### Browse Modes

| Mode         | Description                    |
| ------------ | ------------------------------ |
| Flat         | All files listed at root level |
| Hierarchical | Date => Files                  |

### File Selection

When browsing your Google Photos library, you can select:

* **Individual files** by clicking a single file
* **Multiple files** by checking several files across folders
* **Entire library** by ticking the **/ (Entire Storage)** checkbox

After making your selection, click **Submit Selection** to add the files to your workflow. There is no file limit.

## Supported File Types

| Type   | Extensions                                                      |
| ------ | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Photos | `.jpg`, `.png`, `.heic`, `.webp`, `.raw`, `.dng`                |
| Videos | `.mp4`, `.mov`, `.avi`, `.mkv`, `.webm`, `.m4v`, `.mts`, `.3gp` |

## Metadata

Each file includes the following metadata, available for use in Blober's naming templates:

| Field        | Example       |
| ------------ | ------------- |
| Filename     | IMG\_1234.jpg |
| Capture date | 2026-01-23    |
| Dimensions   | 4032 × 3024   |
| Camera       | Pixel 9 Pro   |
| File size    | 4.2 MB        |

## Best Practices

### Back Up Your Google Photos

Use Google Photos as a **source** to back up your library to local storage or another cloud provider. This is especially useful since Google Photos counts against your Google storage quota.

### Migrate to Another Provider

Transfer your Google Photos library to S3, Azure, Dropbox, Backblaze B2, or any other supported provider. Blober downloads original-quality files directly from Google. Files move directly from Google to your destination - no manual downloads required.

## Troubleshooting

### Connection issues

* **Login window appears unexpectedly** - Google's session cookies have expired. Sign in again to continue. This is normal and happens periodically.
* **Empty file list** - Make sure you have photos in your Google Photos library (not just in Google Drive). Shared albums may not appear.
* **Login window closed accidentally** - Click **Sign in with Google** again. No data is lost.

### Download issues

* **Download failed for a specific file** - The file may be in a format that Google doesn't serve directly. Try again, or check if the file is viewable in [Google Photos](https://photos.google.com/).
* **Video downloads as image** - This can happen for files that were listed without full metadata. The file will be corrected automatically on download (the real filename comes from Google's servers).

## Limitations

* **Download only** - Upload support is coming in a future release
* **Session duration** - Google sessions expire periodically. Blober will prompt you to sign in again when this happens
* **No album browsing** - Blober lists your entire library chronologically, not by album
* **Rate limiting** - Very large libraries may take time to load as Google returns items in batches

> **Caution**
>
> Google Photos does not provide an official public API for this type of access. If something stops working after a Google update, check for a Blober update. Your use of Google Photos through Blober is at your own risk and must comply with [Google's Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms). Blober does not guarantee uptime or uninterrupted access to Google services. See our [Terms of Service](/kb/docs/terms-and-privacy/terms-of-service/) for details.

## Further Reading

* [How to Backup Google Photos Without Google Takeout (After rclone Lost Access)](/kb/articles/how-to-backup-google-photos-without-takeout/) - the complete guide to downloading your entire Google Photos library
* [Back Up Cloud Storage Directly to Your NAS](/kb/articles/backup-cloud-to-nas-synology-network-drive/) - back up Google Photos to a Synology, QNAP, or any NAS

## External References

* [Google Photos](https://photos.google.com/)
* [Google Storage Quota](https://one.google.com/storage)