How to Pause Google Photos Backup on One Device Only

You want one phone to stop uploading to Google Photos, but you are worried the switch will shut off backup for your whole account. It will not. Backup is a per-device setting inside each copy of the app, so switching it off on one device changes nothing on the others.

Open Photos settings on that device

Open the Google Photos app on the device you want to pause. Tap your profile picture in the top right, then tap Photos settings, then Backup.

Turn off Backup

Tap the Backup toggle at the top to switch it off. The device stops uploading at once, and anything still in the upload queue is dropped. Check the account shown on this screen is the one you expect, since a device signed into a different account was never affecting your library.

Exclude folders instead, if that is enough

If the problem is one folder, such as Screenshots or WhatsApp Images, leave backup on. Tap Back up device folders and switch off the folders you do not want uploaded. Camera photos keep backing up; the excluded folders stay on the phone only.

Limit uploads to Wi-Fi or charging

If you paused backup because of data or battery, there is a lighter option. On the same Backup screen, under Backup options, set Mobile data usage to No data (or turn off Back up using mobile data on older versions) so uploads wait for Wi-Fi. Some versions also let you restrict backup to run only while charging.

Check your other devices

Open Google Photos on another device and look at the top of the app. It should still show Backup complete or an upload in progress. Nothing you changed on the first device reaches this one.

If photos already uploaded worry you. Pausing backup does not delete anything from the cloud. Everything that device uploaded before you switched it off stays in your library and is still visible everywhere you sign in. Deleting a photo on the paused device removes only the local copy, unless the app warns that it is also in the cloud.