Google Photos guide
Marta Kowalczyk writes about design and creative apps for Appcyclopedia, working on a MacBook Air, an iPhone 16 Pro and a Galaxy A55.
- Web
- iOS
- Android
Short answer
Select the photos you want, then choose Add to album and New album. Give the album a title and tap Done. On a computer, click Add (the plus icon) at the top, then Album and New album.
The photos are not copied: an album points to photos already in your library, so it uses no extra storage, and deleting the album leaves the photos where they were.
Below: the steps on each device, adding more photos later, and how an album differs from a shared album.
How to make a Google Photos album, on any device
To create an album in Google Photos, pick the photos first and the album second. The first two groups cover phones and computers; the last covers adding photos and renaming.
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On an Android phone or iPhone
Touch and hold a photo, then select the rest
Open Google Photos and make sure you are signed in to the right Google Account. Touch and hold the first photo you want until a tick appears, then tap the others to add them to the selection.
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Tap Add to album, then New album
With the photos selected, tap Add to album in the menu and choose New album. On some versions the option sits behind the + at the top of the screen.
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Type a title and tap Done
Give the album a name, or leave it untitled, and tap Done. The album opens with your photos in it and appears under Collections, or the albums section of the app.
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On a computer
Select the photos at photos.google.com
Go to photos.google.com and sign in. Hover over the first photo and click the tick at its top left, then click the others you want.
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Click Add, then Album and New album
Click Add (the plus icon) at the top of the page, then Album and New album. Type a title if you like and click Done.
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Later, on any device
Add more photos to the album
Open the album and tap Add to album at the bottom, or the add photos icon at the top on a computer. Select the new photos and tap Done. You can also select photos in your library and add them to the existing album from Add to album.
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Rename the album by tapping its title
Open the album, tap or click its title, type the new one and tap Done. The photos inside are not affected.
After a holiday: select the 60 best shots from the week, choose Add to album, New album, and call it “Crete, June”. The photos stay in your main library too, and the album is one tap away when someone asks to see them.
Select the photos before you create the album: Google Photos builds the album around what you picked, so there is no empty album to fill.
More about Google Photos
Google’s photo backup and gallery, sharing 15 GB of free storage with Gmail and Drive.
If the Google Photos album does not work as expected
- The album is missing on another device
Albums belong to the Google Account. Check that the other device is signed in to the same account, and that the photos have finished backing up; photos that are only on one phone cannot appear elsewhere.
- Google Photos will not add more photos
An album holds up to 20,000 photos and videos. Split a very large album into two, for example by year.
- You deleted an album by mistake
The photos are still in your library; only the grouping is gone. Select them again and create a new album with them.
Album, shared album or live album: which one you want
Google Photos uses the word album for three slightly different things, and the steps above make the first.
| Kind | What it is | Who can add photos |
|---|---|---|
| Album | A group of photos you chose | Only you |
| Shared album | An album you have shared with people | You, and people you shared it with, if you allow it |
| Live album | An album that fills itself with photos of chosen people or pets | Google Photos, automatically |
A live album starts from the + at the top: choose Album, then Select people & pets, pick the faces and confirm. New photos of them are added as they back up.
Start with an ordinary album: it is private, you control what goes in, and you can share it later if you want to.
Why deleting a photo is different from removing it from an album
This is the one place where Google Photos albums can catch people out. Removing a photo from an album takes it out of that album only. Deleting a photo, from the album or anywhere else, moves it to the trash and removes it from your whole library and every album it was in.
When you tidy an album, look for the option that says remove from album, not the trash icon. Deleted photos stay in the trash for 30 days before they are gone for good.
What to do after creating your first album
An album is the quickest way to find a set of photos again. Keep one per trip, event or project, and give each a title you would search for.
Select the photos, choose Add to album and New album, and give it a clear title. If you delete a photo by mistake while tidying, it can be restored from the trash for 30 days.
Google Photos albums: what to know
- Does an album take up extra storage?
- No. An album points to photos already in your library. It does not copy them, so your storage use stays the same.
- If I delete an album, are the photos deleted?
- No. Deleting an album removes only the album. The photos stay in your Google Photos library unless you delete them there.
- Can I put one photo in several albums?
- Yes. A photo can belong to as many albums as you like, and it still counts once in your storage.
- Can other people see my albums?
- No, not unless you share the album. A new album is private to your account.
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Test log
Followed the steps? Tell us how it went on your device. Entries appear here after we check them.
- Worked Every step, start to finish · Daniel Okonkwo and Elias Brandt Team
I tested this
Steps performed and confirmed 10 days ago
When you need this
If you want to group photos from a trip, an event or a project in Google Photos, select them and add them to a new album. An album holds up to 20,000 photos and videos.
- Describes
- Google Photos app for Android and iPhone · Google Photos in a browser at photos.google.com
- Takes
- A minute or two, depending on how many photos you pick
- Platforms
- Web · iOS · Android
- Published
- 13 October 2026
- Facts checked
- 10 October 2026
Steps repeated and verified by 
Daniel Okonkwo and 
Elias Brandt
on
- Daniel Okonkwo: the iPhone steps on an iPhone 15 (iOS 27.0.1) and the Android steps on a Pixel 9 Pro (Android 17).
- Elias Brandt: the web steps on a ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Windows 11 Pro).
Limits quoted here come from Google Photos’s documentation and were not tested.
Sources: Google Photos Help, Create & edit photo albums (Android)Google Photos Help, Create & edit photo albums (iPhone and iPad)Google Photos Help, Create & edit photo albums (computer)Google Photos Help, Delete photos & videos