Google Photos
“Free up space” deleted my photos. What now?
Usually they aren’t gone. Google Photos’ “Free up space” only removes the phone’s own copies of photos and videos that are already backed up, and the backed-up copies stay in Google Photos and at photos.google.com. They just no longer show in your phone’s own gallery. If something really was deleted, Google keeps it in the trash for 30 days. Here is how to check, step by step, from Google’s own help pages.
Lumo is a free, private family album for iPhone, iPad and Android. Send one link and the whole family can join.
Invited to a Lumo album? Open it in any web browser: app.lumomagic.com
What “Free up space” actually does
In the Google Photos app, “Free up space on this device” deletes the copies on your phone of photos and videos that are already backed up to your Google Account. Google’s help says plainly that the feature deletes photos from your device. The backed-up copies stay in your Google Photos library, where you can still see, share and download them in the app or at photos.google.com.
What changes is where they show. After freeing up space, those photos no longer appear in your phone’s own gallery or Photos app, and you can’t see them in Google Photos while you’re offline or signed out. That is why it can look as if they were deleted. Source: Google’s Free up space on your device.
Check these first
Most missing photos turn up in one of these places. Google’s Find lost photos & videos gives the same order.
- The right account: open Google Photos and tap your profile photo. Photos backed up to another Google Account only appear when you’re signed in to that one.
- The library itself: open the Google Photos app while online and signed in, or go to photos.google.com on a computer. Search by place or by date.
- The archive: in Collections, open Archive. Archived photos are hidden from the main view but not deleted.
- The trash: in Collections, open Trash. Touch and hold a photo, then tap Restore. It goes back to your library and your phone’s gallery.
- On iPhone: Google’s steps end with deleting the same items from Recently Deleted in the Photos app. If you haven’t done that yet, they are still there.
When photos really were deleted
Deleting a photo in the Google Photos app also deletes it from your phone and from other devices with backup turned on. People sometimes do this to save Google storage, not realising the phone’s copy goes too.
Photos and videos you delete stay in the trash for 30 days before they’re permanently deleted, and so do photos deleted on Android 11 and later without a backup. Once the trash is emptied, or after 30 days, Google says they can’t be restored, and Google Takeout can’t bring them back either. Sources: Google’s Restore recently deleted photos & videos and Delete photos & videos, checked 5 November 2026.
Before you free up space next time
- Check the backup status at the top of Google Photos: it should say “Backup complete”. A photo with a crossed-out cloud isn’t backed up.
- Make sure backup goes to the account you expect.
- To remove only the phone’s copy of one photo, open it and use Delete from device, not Delete.
- Remember that freed-up photos only show in Google Photos, not in the phone’s own gallery or offline.
A family copy, apart from the phone
The family photos that matter most are often the ones on a parent’s phone that grandparents never saw. A shared family album keeps a copy of those photos in a place that doesn’t depend on one phone or one account.
Lumo is a private album for one family. Adding photos to it copies them: nothing on your phone is changed or removed, and freeing up space or deleting on the phone doesn’t touch the album. Photos stay in full quality, in the order they were taken, until the person who added them or an album admin deletes them. Everyone you invite sees them, and nobody else does.
What Lumo isn’t
Lumo doesn’t back up your whole phone, and it can’t reach your Google Photos library or bring back anything Google has deleted. Keep using Google Photos or your phone’s own backup for that. Lumo is for the photos you want the family to have, chosen by you.
How to keep a family copy
- Start a family albumFree, on iPhone, iPad or Android, or in a browser at app.lumomagic.com.
- Invite the familyWith a private invite link or a 4-digit family code.
- Add the photos you want to keepFrom your phone, or many at once from a computer, including ones you download from Google Photos.
- Free up space without worryWhat’s in the album stays there, whatever happens on the phone.
Questions
Does adding photos to Lumo delete them from my phone?
No. Lumo copies the photos you choose. Nothing on your phone, in Google Photos or in iCloud is changed or removed.
Can Lumo recover photos Google deleted?
No. Lumo can’t reach Google Photos. If a photo is still in your library or your trash, restore it there first, then add it to the album.
Does the album use my phone’s or Google’s storage?
No. Photos in the album don’t count toward your phone’s storage or your Google Account’s 15 GB.
If I add a photo twice, will it show up twice?
No. Lumo skips photos that are already in your album, so nothing appears twice.
Is Lumo free?
Yes. The album, unlimited photos and videos, inviting family, hearts and comments are free, for everyday family use under fair use. There are no ads.
Who can see our photos?
Only the people in your family album. Nothing is public, there are no followers, and photos are never shown to anyone outside your family.
Start your family album.
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