That’s why I’ve opted to replace Google Photos with Samsung Gallery, and I’ve been happy with that decision \u2014 and haven’t turned back since.<\/p>\n
Google Photos takes up over 65% of my primary storage<\/p>\n
Managing my backups has become a hassle<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google-one-phone-storage-lifestyle.png\"\/)
\n Credit:\u00a0Lucas Gouveia \/ Android Police | Google | 77 Studio \/ Shutterstock<\/p>\n
One of the biggest complaints among free Google account users is that 15GB of space is used up quickly.<\/p>\n
I recently re-enabled my Google Photos settings to allow backups so that I can transfer my device’s pictures to my Galaxy S25+. That was a huge mistake.<\/p>\n
Every day, when I logged in to my account, Google would notify me that my storage was full. If I didn’t clear up some space, I would no longer be able to send or receive emails (on Gmail) by a certain date.<\/p>\n
I panicked, and I started to mass-delete my Drive folders and clean up my Photos’ storage. However, that didn’t do much, as my storage became full again within an hour.<\/p>\n
I was finally able to fix this by disabling my Photos backups. Still, I have a lot of cleaning to do, as my storage is still around 98% full.<\/p>\n
It’s a mistake that has cost me significantly, as I have my Google account set up across multiple devices. If I set anything to allow backups, every device I’ve used to take photos will populate my storage.<\/p>\n
So I decided to disable my Google Photos settings and uninstall it on my Galaxy S25+. As a Samsung user, I have other options outside of Google products.<\/p>\n
The easiest option (and most trustworthy to me) is Samsung Gallery. I’ve been using this app for years, and it hasn’t let me down yet.<\/p>\n
Samsung has split its free 15GB cloud backup services with OneDrive. The main cloud storage by Samsung, Samsung Cloud<\/a>, doesn’t even handle your photo and video backups directly.<\/p>\n Instead, Samsung Cloud focuses on other data types, such as call logs and settings, while OneDrive handles Gallery videos and photos.<\/p>\n OneDrive currently handles Gallery photo backups, but this will soon change<\/a>, as Samsung is moving away from OneDrive and re-integrating its backup services with its cloud.<\/p>\n While this currently might prove to be a disadvantage for some, it’s actually been a massive advantage for me.<\/p>\n As I’ve already taken advantage of Microsoft’s steady relationship with Samsung<\/a>, I connected my Microsoft and Samsung accounts to improve the integration.<\/p>\n I use OneDrive as an alternative storage to my other cloud services. Plus, I already utilize various Microsoft apps and tools, such as Phone Link and Link to Windows, to sync data between my devices.<\/p>\n Backing up Google Photos takes far too long<\/p>\n Overall, the app feels sluggish<\/p>\n When I perform routine backups on Google Photos<\/a>, the entire process appears to take an extremely long time to complete. The process slows down my phone.<\/p>\n It has become such a hassle that I stopped routinely backing up my photos, and I now prefer to find a manual method for doing so.<\/p>\n Although performing manual backups to other devices is helpful, I also prefer to have it happen passively in the background.<\/p>\n Additionally, navigating through my Gallery app has always been faster for me than navigating through the Google Photos app.<\/p>\n And from my own experience, Google Photos has also been significantly slower at uploading videos.<\/p>\n Overall, I prefer using the Samsung Gallery app<\/a> when I need to send images back and forth between my devices; the UI is friendlier to use, and it’s much easier to view my albums. Uploads also haven’t been overly sluggish.<\/p>\n Google Photos’ AI features don’t interest me<\/p>\n I prefer using Gallery’s AI tools<\/p>\n Google Photos has AI features I don’t really use. I mainly use it as a storage and backup service, along with creating collections for my pictures.<\/p>\n Although Magic Editor<\/a> is quite handy for reframing your photos and removing unwanted objects, I still don’t use it as often as I should (as I prefer to make light edits).<\/p>\n I’ve also never been a fan of forced AI integration with my apps.<\/p>\n Additionally, the AI integration will see growth in Google Photos, as the app will soon go full Nano Banana<\/a>.<\/p>\n It’s not that I am against using AI tools for photos. Personally, I think it has its place. AI tools can be used to help correct poor-quality photos<\/a>, especially when taking shots in less-than-ideal conditions.<\/p>\n However, I found myself being more drawn to Samsung’s offerings, comparatively, such as the new Gallery Assistant app that rolled out in beta on One UI 8<\/a> for the Galaxy 25 series, Z Fold 7, and Z Flip 7 \u2014 the biggest draw is the batch editing feature<\/a>.<\/p>\n The new app is designed to work in conjunction with the regular Gallery app.<\/p>\n I also appreciate that the Gallery app is still light on AI editing features, but there are still more than enough in-house tools to make quick edits on the go.<\/p>\n I don’t always need Google to rule me<\/p>\n The less time I spend with Google products, the better<\/p>\n Partly, this is why I have always stuck with Samsung, as it provides alternatives to Google.<\/p>\n While I am still dependent on many Google products<\/a> (and unfortunately, that won’t change for a while, since I am already heavily integrated into the Google ecosystem), I like to explore alternatives that integrate well with my everyday devices.<\/p>\n But since I don’t want to give third-party apps permissions to access my photos and videos, I’d rather stick to a trusted option on my phone.<\/p>\n Samsung Gallery is the ideal alternative. The UI remains consistent, and the options aren’t buried and hidden in my settings. I can easily view, manage, and edit my photos from within the app.<\/p>\n I prefer dealing with my media locally<\/p>\n Google Photos relies heavily on cloud tools to process and store your images, as well as organize your media on the Google Cloud.<\/p>\n What I enjoy the most about Samsung Gallery is that it never seems pushy for me to access the cloud to manage my photos. I can manage them locally without relying on an internet connection.<\/p>\n My office space is located in the outer part of my home, and I have a Wi-Fi extender<\/a> to ensure I have a stable Wi-Fi connection for most of my devices when I am working with them.<\/p>\n Otherwise, I use a wired setup for devices I actively need a connection with. But not all of my devices are wired, so I still use Wi-Fi or mobile data.<\/p>\n With the Gallery app, I don’t have to stress if my Wi-Fi connection becomes spotty to manage my photos. I can manage my media directly on my device (offline caching in Google Photos is still limited).<\/p>\n The local storage in Gallery is easier to access, and I can see all my files within my albums and folders. I take a lot of temporary private photos, and the Gallery app makes it easier for me to manage them.<\/p>\n I also don’t have to worry about my media getting accidentally backed up (as I have had my images backed up on a secondary Google account by accident \u2014 this happened on more than one occasion).<\/p>\n Try other photo-managing and editing apps<\/p>\n I admit that I have a massive Samsung bias and understand that this substitution may not be suitable for everyone.<\/p>\n For instance, if you’re looking for a more lightweight replacement that works well, one of our writers praised Simple Gallery Pro as the perfect alternative to Google Photos<\/a> (for $3).<\/p>\n Otherwise, you can try out other options from other platforms that don’t have built-in backup and editing tools<\/a>.<\/p>\n One example is Amazon Photos, a platform available to Prime members (with limitations for non-Prime subscribers) that allows you to easily back up and edit your photos.<\/p>\n Another popular option is Flickr, which serves as another backup solution with social media integration.<\/p>\n![\"Collage](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1759065248_360_google-photos-pixel-phone.jpg\"\/)
\n Credit:\u00a0Lucas Gouveia \/ Android Police | PeopleImages \/ Shutterstock<\/p>\n![\"Examples](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google-photos-conversational-editing-blog-header.jpg\"\/)
\n Credit:\u00a0Google<\/p>\n![\"Showing](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/169-1-3.png\"\/)
\n Credit:\u00a0Google<\/p>\n![\"Showing](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/screenshot_20250925_205732_gallery.jpg\"\/)
![\"Showing](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/screenshot_20250925_205742_gallery.jpg\"\/)
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