Google Photos doesn't give an option to exclude videos from backing up

Following points describe some minute details related to Google Photos that we think you might not be aware of:

46. With Backup and Sync v 3.39 now it’s possible to exclude Apple Photos Library metadata from syncing. (Source)

45. Currently, the Photos app doesn’t have any option to backup only photos but not videos. (Source 1 2)

44. Google Photos (v3.7) now gives an option to exclude motion photos from Sharing.

43. You can now enjoy ‘Then and now’ comparison pictures created by Assistant. (Source)

42. Google Photos’ latest v3.7.17 tweaks the app’s algorithm for faster video sharing. (Source)

41. Pixel 2 users can enjoy unlimited original-quality storage for photos and videos only till Jan 15, 2021. Later, the app will upload files in high-quality only. (Source)

40. Despite the app now supporting iOS 11 formats- HEIF (images) and HEVC (videos), there’s no option to convert them to JPEG while downloading them on Windows. (Source)

39. Currently, the Photos app doesn’t allow archiving an entire photo album. Selecting individual pictures for archiving is the only option. (Source)

38. Google Photos doesn’t support creating/editing movies on Samsung’s latest flagship smartphones – the Galaxy S8/S8 Plus and Galaxy Note8 – as well as last year’s Galaxy S7 series. (Source)

37. Backup and Sync app does check first if the photo/video exists only in the Photos app, but not in Google Drive. If so, then it creates a home for it in Drive (does indicate uploading, but does not re-upload it actually). (Source)

36. The download option does not show up on Google Photos if the picture is already stored in the device. (Source)

35. Google Photos Desktop Uploader keeps a history of uploads at files.dat (proprietary format) file in the application support folder. (Source)

34. Pictures that aren’t backed up yet (or were skipped) can be seen through Desktop Uploader. It has a logfile where you could see which photos were skipped. (Source)
Note: On Windows: %localappdata%\Google\Google Photos Backup\ (copy/paste the path to the address bar in “Windows explorer”)
On Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Google Photos Backup/

33. In Google Photos the edited date/time is not written to EXIF data. The description/ caption added to the pictures is not saved to the files metadata and hence gets deleted on downloading the image. (Source)

32. After a successful upload, the changes made to photos in either Drive or the computer are not transmitted to Google Photos. Similarly, any editing in Google Photos will never be transmitted to Drive (My Computer) or to the Computer. (Source)

31. One can tell a photo belongs to which album by opening the photo’s info (i-icon on right upper corner) and looking under Albums, which lists all the albums, if any, to which the photo was added.(Source)

30. Picture or video formats that Google Photos does not recognize, do not upload to Google Photos but consume storage in Google Drive. (Source)

29. Backup and Sync app shouldn’t upload or sync thumbnails from Mac’s photo library to Google Photos, though they can be seen in Drive. (Source)

Note: With the client’s latest version 3.39, now it’s possible to exclude Apple Photos Library metadata from syncing. More info here.

28. With the Photo apps ‘Hide from albums’ option one can access the album in shared albums tab, as the same (hidden album) won’t show up in normal album tab.
Note: The limitation being you have to share an album first for hiding it. (Source 1| Source 2)

27. G Suite users can’t transfer photos directly from Google Drive to Google Photos. Reason being, currently the option for showing ‘Google Drive photos in Google Photos’ is supported for personal accounts only. (Source)

26. Currently, Apple’s live photos feature (video effect) is not supported by Photos app on Web. You’ll be able to see such pictures but the video effect won’t be accessible. (Source)

25. Google Photos Desktop Uploader (for PC or Mac) is just an uploader, not a sync program. It does not download photos from Google Photos on the Web, rather it only scans your PC for photos and uploads them to Google Photos. Once the pictures get uploaded to Google Photos, the changes in online copy cannot affect the photo on PC.
NOTE: Photos app on smartphones is a sync program. When a picture is deleted or edited locally they will be acted on in Google Photos too.(Source)

24. Photos users operating on iOS may complain of thumbnails or face tiles uploaded along with the original picture. Reason could be Apple Photos keeps both pictures and thumbnails along with face tiles (in sub directories of library). So, backup only the folder containing pictures themselves to avoid the issue. (Source)

23. Currently, the Photos app does not support selective upload on iOS. (Source)

22. ‘Upload Newly added photos and videos‘ feature- whenever you add a photo or video to any ‘hard drive folder’ (with Backup and Sync monitor enabled for that folder), it will automatically backup to cloud in Google Photos.
NOTE: Edits in cloud are not reflected in file folders or vice versa.(Source 1 | Source 2)

21. The new ‘Backup and Sync’ app does not re-upload all photos, but merely scan/read your Photos library again to sync across all devices(which may take 24-48 hours). (Source)

20. Irrespective of ‘Original Quality’ settings, Google Photos compresses .RAW files to low quality .JPG files. (Source)

19. As long as a photo is backed up, it will be subject to ‘Free up space, irrespective of its create date. So, freeing space will delete all backed up pictures from device, even if it was shot today. No 30 days cap in this case. (Source)

18. If you change Google Photos setting from Original to High Quality, the quality of existing photos will not be effected. The changed settings will apply to newly uploaded photos only. (Source)

17. There might be a limit to how many faces can be tagged by the ‘People’ feature in Google Photos. Google Photos is reported to recognize 500 faces. No new faces being tagged after that point. (Source)

16. By no means you can view pictures that are not stored in Albums in Google Photos. (Source)

15. Shared album does not support multiple selection for download yet. You can either download an entire shared album or individually download the pictures one by one. (Source)

14. Currently, the Photos app does not support embedding pictures/ albums into websites. So, no developer API. (Source)

13. Photos app has a cap for number of photos that can be uploaded per album i.e. 2000 pictures per album. (Source)

12. Moving pictures (taken by phone and moved in between SD cared and device’s internal storage) can cause place holder issues in Android app.
NOTE: In case, moving pictures downloaded from other apps do not have its camera data included, it automatically sets the time when it was moved from one location to other, as its create date. This is the reason why create dates of images often get changed in Google Photos. (Source 1 |Source 2)

11. ‘Google Photos folder’ created in Google Drive is merely a shortcut to pictures stored in Google Photos. Deleting pictures from ‘Google Photos folder’ will delete the it from Google Photos as well. But renaming the pictures in ‘Google Photos folder’ in Drive, will not reflect those changes to Google Photos or vice versa. (Source)

10. An old picture uploaded on Google Photos, whose creation date is of past years can be searched directly through Recently added (Search bar> Show more> Recently added). No need to struggle through library all the way down to where it would be stored in order.
NOTE: The Recently added option only appears in the desktop link. (Source)

9. Google Photos do not count against storage in Google Drive, if only you store pictures in High quality. In contrast, if you store them in Original quality, they eat up storage quota. (Source)

8. Storage Quota- Photos/ videos shared by others do not count against your storage quota. But, if your partner (sender of the shared items) deletes the shared content from his/her account, it will begin to count against your storage limit on Google Photos. (Source)

7. The app doesn’t permit to edit the animations created by Assistant. (Source)

6. Sharing Photos Library with a partner shares the pictures in Archives as well. (Source)

5. For iOS users, the Photos app must be open and active (in foreground) for backup to occur. That is how iOS interacts with apps. (Source)

4. The pictures/videos that you Archive, continue to stay in the albums (to which they were added), search results, folders on device. But,once Archived, the pictures/ videos cannot be used to create movies or animations. (Source)

3. Google Photos does not have the feature to add caption or show the added caption on photos yet.
NOTE:Sharing pictures/albums of Google Photos via G+ shows the captions as well. ( Source 1 | Source 2 | Source 3)

2. Pertaining to Sharing Photo Library, you can share the library with only one person/partner at a time. (Source)

1. The Photos app limits download to 500 items because that’s the limit of one action at a time. (Source)