How to Merge Google Photos from Different Accounts

If you’ve created more than one Google account over time to store your photos and are now wondering if there’s a way to merge Google Photos from different accounts, you’ve come to the right place. In this blog, you’ll learn three simple ways to merge Google Photos accounts.

How to Merge Google Photos Accounts

I’ve been saving my photos and videos on Google Photos since I got my first smartphone. Like many others, I prefer to save the images in original quality only. For this reason, I have set up three different Google accounts.

Though Google Photos allows me to manage all my photos and videos in one place effortlessly, juggling between these accounts can be quite a hassle. If you, too, are tired of this struggle, then this thought may have crossed your mind: Can we merge two Google Photos accounts?

Unfortunately, Google doesn’t allow you to merge your accounts into one. However, there are a few workarounds that let you access all your photos through a single account.

Here’s how you can merge your Google Photos into one account and access them from one place.

Method 1: Turning On Partner Sharing

The most convenient way to share photos between your Google accounts is partner sharing. When this option is enabled, you can seamlessly access media from one Google account in another. Also, the option allows you to share your pictures automatically. So when you add new images in one of your accounts, they’ll automatically appear in your other account.

However, you can only add one account as a partner to your main account.

Here’s how you do it:

A. From Smartphone

Step 1: Launch the Google Photos app. Navigate to Sharing. Tap Share with Partner. You can choose to share all photos or only photos of specific people. Now, tap Select Partner.

Step 2: Enter the Google account ID you want to merge your photos with and click Confirm. You can also decide if you want to share future photos automatically. A partner-sharing invitation will be sent to your selected account.

Step 3: Now go to the other Google account (the one you entered above) and accept the invitation. You will find the invitation in Google Photos > Sharing. Tap on the Invitation and tap on Accept. This will open a Share Back Window. Hit Confirm to share your pictures back.

Step 6: To automatically reflect newly added pictures to your accounts, Turn On the Auto-Save Feature on both accounts. Here, you can choose to share all photos or only photos of specific people or albums.

That’s it; now you can access all your Google Photos media from any of your accounts. Also, the newly added data will be reflected on both of your accounts.

B. From Desktop

Step 1: Launch the Chrome browser. Navigate to Google Apps and go to Photos.

Step 2: Open the Sharing tab. At the top right of your screen, click Share with Partner.

Step 3: Now, you can choose whether you want to share all photos or only photos of specific people. You can also choose a date till which you want to share the pictures. Choose your settings and tap on Next.

Step 4: Then, add the Google account with which you want to share your photos with. Finally, hit the Send Invitation button.

Step 5: Now go to the other Google Account (which you entered above) and accept the invitation. You will find the invitation in Google Photos > Sharing > View Invitation > Accept Invitation.

Step 6: Next, it will ask for Sharing Back with your partner. Choose the settings of your preference and hit Next. Finally, click on Send Invitation.

Step 7: To automatically reflect newly added pictures to your accounts, Turn On the Auto-Save Feature on both accounts. Here, you can choose to share all photos or only photos of specific people or albums.

Once you do, all your photos will be accessible from both accounts in one place. Also, any new photos you add will automatically appear on both accounts.

Method 2: Using Shared Albums

Another way to share your photos between multiple Google Photos accounts is by using shared albums. This method allows you to share specific albums with other accounts. It’s an easy and convenient way to share pictures, and there’s no restriction on the number of photos that can be shared.

Moreover, you can share these albums with any number of accounts. That is, you can share pictures with all the accounts you have. Also, you can add pictures from all accounts to an album and access them later from any account. You can also add new pictures to the album automatically.

Here’s how you can share albums:

A. From Smartphone

Step 1: Launch the Google Photos App.

Step 2: Go to Sharing.

Step 3: Tap on Create Shared Album.

Step 4: Select the albums/faces (people and pets) to share.

Step 5: After selecting the faces, tap on the Confirm button at the top right corner.

Step 6: Now, you can add a title to your album. After adding the title, tap on the Share button.

Step 7: You will now be prompted to invite people. Here, you can enter the email addresses of your other Google Photos accounts. After you have entered the email addresses, tap the Send button.

B. From Computer

Step 1: Launch the Chrome Browser. Navigate to Google Apps and go to Photos.

Step 2: Open the Sharing tab. On the top right of your screen, click on Create Shared Album.

Step 3: Now, you can choose whether you want to share all photos or only photos of specific people. Once done, click on Next.

Step 4: Then add a title to your album and go to Select People and Pets to share an album of specific people.

Step 5: Select the albums/faces you want to share. Click the Confirm button in the upper right corner of the screen. Then, add a title for your album.

Step 6: Now, you can add the email addresses of your other Google Photos accounts. After you have added the email addresses, click the Send button.

Method 3: Using Google Takeout (Download and Upload)

If you don’t want to share your photos with another account but still want to merge them, you can download your photos from one account and then upload them to another. You can use Google Takeout to download all your photos at once and upload them to your main Google account at once.

However, this is a tedious process and can take some time, depending on the number of photos you have. Also, make sure you have enough space on your main account to collect the photos from your other accounts.

Learn how to use Google Takeout to merge your Google Photos accounts here:

A. Download Photos

Step 1: Go to Google Takeout.

Step 2: Deselect all and then scroll down to find Google Photos.

Step 3: Select Google Photos and click on All photo albums included. Deselect the albums you don’t want to download.

Step 5: Click on OK and then Next step.

Step 6: Choose the delivery method, frequency, file type & size. Click on Create Export. You will receive an email when your photos are ready to download.

B. Upload Photos

Step 1: Go to Google Photos.

Step 2: Click Upload in the top right.

Step 3: Select the photos you downloaded and wait for them to upload.

And that’s it! Now you have all your photos in one place.

Wrap-Up – Merge Your Google Photos

Google Photos is a great platform to store your pictures and videos. However, managing multiple Google Photos accounts can be a bit overwhelming and tedious. But with our methods to merge Google Photos, you can now easily access your pictures and moments in one place.

If you use any of the above methods, you can use Google Photos in a much more efficient and organized way.

FAQs Related to Merging Google Photos Accounts

1. How to automatically sync two Google Photos accounts?

It is possible to sync two Google Photos accounts using the Partner Sharing setting. Partner Sharing is a feature that allows you to share your pictures with your partner and even lets you automatically sync your accounts.  Here are the steps to do it:

• Open Google Photos.
• Go to Sharing.
• Tap on Share with Partner.
• Enter or select an email address. Note that you can only invite someone with a Google Account.
• Select which photos to add to your partner account.
• Click Next, and then Send Invitation.
• Accept the invitation from your other account (partner’s account).
• Turn on the Auto-save feature on both accounts. This can be done in Google Photos > Sharing.
• Now, both your accounts will be synced.

2. How to recover deleted Google photos?

If you have mistakenly deleted some photos from your Google Photos account, you can recover and restore them from the bin.

• Open the Google Photos app on your device.
• Tap on the Library tab at the bottom.
• Tap on Trash or Bin.
• You will see your deleted photos and videos here.
• Touch and hold the photo or video you want to restore.
• At the bottom, tap Restore.

The Google Bin allows you to restore photos and videos that you deleted in the last 60 days. It is not possible to restore permanently deleted media in Google Photos.