How to Back Up Google Photos Automatically with Make.com
Backing up your Google Photos does not have to be manual or time-consuming. With make.com you can build automation scenarios that copy every new photo and video from your Google Photos library to other storage services, devices, and backup archives. This guide walks you step by step through four reliable backup strategies based on the official how-to from Google.
The goal is simple: keep all your images and videos safe, organized, and accessible even if something happens to your primary Google account.
Overview: 4 Ways to Back Up Google Photos
Google provides several built-in options to secure your media. You can then enhance and automate them with make.com scenarios to create a robust backup system.
- Export your Google Photos with Google Takeout
- Sync photos to a computer using Google Drive for desktop
- Use additional cloud storage like OneDrive or Dropbox
- Copy photos to local or external drives
All four options can work together. Once they are in place, you can use automation to keep everything updated with minimal effort.
Method 1: Export Google Photos with Google Takeout
Google Takeout lets you export a complete copy of your Google Photos library. This is the most important safety net if you want a snapshot of everything you have ever stored.
Step-by-step export using Google Takeout
- Sign in to your Google account and open Google Takeout at takeout.google.com.
- Click “Deselect all” to start with a clean selection.
- Scroll to “Google Photos” and check the box.
- Click “Multiple formats” to review which image and video formats will be exported.
- Optionally, click “All photo albums included” and select specific albums.
- Scroll to the bottom and click “Next step.”
- Choose your delivery method (email link, add to Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Box).
- Select file type (.zip or .tgz) and maximum archive size.
- Click “Create export” and wait for Google to prepare your files.
Depending on the size of your library, this process can take minutes or several hours. You will receive a link or find the archives in the service you selected.
Automating Takeout archives with Make.com
Once your export lands in a chosen storage service, you can use make.com to process it automatically. For example, you can build a scenario that:
- Watches a specific Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive folder for new Takeout archives.
- Renames the files with a clear pattern that includes date and batch number.
- Moves or copies the archives to a long-term backup destination such as a cold-storage cloud bucket.
This keeps every Google Takeout batch safely stored without needing to sort files by hand.
Method 2: Back Up Google Photos to a Computer
Another strategy is to keep a local copy of your photos and videos on your computer so you are not relying on a single cloud service.
Set up Google Drive for desktop
To sync photos to your computer:
- Install Google Drive for desktop on your Windows or macOS device.
- Sign in with the Google account that stores your photos.
- In the app settings, select the folders you want to mirror or stream.
- Enable the option to show Google Photos if it is available in your region.
- Let the client download or stream the content to your computer.
Once the sync is complete, your files will be available locally and can be copied to other locations.
Automating computer backups with Make.com
make.com cannot run directly on your desktop file system, but it can manage the cloud side. A typical approach is:
- Use Google Drive for desktop to mirror a cloud folder to your computer.
- In make.com, create a scenario that watches the same Google Drive folder.
- When new files appear, copy them to another service like Dropbox, OneDrive, or S3-compatible storage.
This ensures that anything mirrored to your computer is also duplicated in a secondary cloud location, giving you extra redundancy.
Method 3: Use Extra Cloud Storage with Make.com
Cloud-to-cloud backup is one of the most powerful uses of make.com. Instead of downloading files manually, you can create continuous data flows between services.
Cloud services you can combine
Common storage destinations include:
- Google Drive
- Dropbox
- Microsoft OneDrive
- Box
- Amazon S3-compatible storage
When you connect these services with make.com, you can move or copy files between them on a schedule or in real time.
Example Make.com scenario for photo backup
Here is a simple structure you can replicate:
- Trigger: New file in a Google Photos–linked Google Drive folder.
- Filter: Process only images and videos (by MIME type or extension).
- Action: Upload a copy to Dropbox in a folder organized by year and month.
- Optional action: Add a row to a spreadsheet log with filename, size, and backup timestamp.
This type of scenario can be changed to target OneDrive, Box, or other connected apps. The advantage of using make.com is that the entire workflow runs automatically once configured.
Method 4: Back Up to External Drives and Devices
Many people still prefer having a physical backup on an external hard drive or NAS. You can combine this with cloud backups for maximum protection.
Create local copies from exported archives
After you export your library via Google Takeout or sync it with Google Drive for desktop, you can copy those files to:
- External HDDs or SSDs
- Network-attached storage (NAS)
- Home media servers
- Offline archive drives stored in a safe location
Keep at least two physical copies in different locations if the data is very important.
How Make.com supports device-based backups
Although make.com does not write directly to USB drives, it can maintain the cloud side of a 3-2-1 backup strategy. For example:
- One primary copy in Google Photos.
- One automated cloud backup in Dropbox or S3 using a make.com scenario.
- One local copy that you periodically pull from the backup cloud folder to your external drive.
This keeps your workflow efficient while preserving the control that comes with owning physical media.
Best Practices for Reliable Google Photos Backups
To avoid data loss, combine the technical methods above with a few simple habits.
Use a 3-2-1 strategy
A classic backup framework is:
- 3 copies of your data
- 2 different types of storage (for example, cloud and physical)
- 1 copy stored off-site
make.com helps maintain the additional cloud copies while Google Photos remains your primary workspace.
Schedule regular checks and tests
Even automated setups require monitoring:
- Verify that your make.com scenarios are running without errors.
- Test restore a few photos from each destination every few months.
- Review storage quotas so new backups do not fail silently.
Enhancing the Official Google Workflow with Make.com
The approaches described here are based on Google’s official guidance for backing up photos and videos. You can review the original how-to at this source page for additional context on export options and formats.
By layering make.com automation on top of those methods, you can:
- Eliminate manual file transfers between services.
- Standardize folder names and file naming conventions.
- Maintain logs of every backup action.
- Scale your backup strategy as your photo library grows.
Next Steps and Additional Resources
Once your core backup system is in place, you can extend it with more advanced automation patterns, such as resizing images for sharing, generating albums by date, or tagging new uploads.
If you want expert help designing complex workflows around make.com, data security, and API-based integrations, you can explore consulting resources like Consultevo, which specializes in automation and integration architecture.
Combining Google’s built-in tools with flexible scenarios in make.com gives you a resilient, scalable backup strategy for all your Google Photos and videos, ensuring that your memories remain safe no matter what happens to a single device or account.
Need Help With Make.com?
If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your Make scenarios, work with ConsultEvo — certified workflow and automation specialists.