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Google Photos now lets you schedule exports of new photos and videos

Google Photos is an excellent backup service for photos and videos, but it’s not necessarily the only thing you might want to use. Whether it’s mirroring your library on a local drive or anything else, Google Photos is adding a helpful new option to schedule exports, including only the exports of newly-added content.

The ability to export from Google Photos has been a part of Takeout for years now, but it’s been an all-or-nothing affair. A single export of your library, with potentially years worth of photo/video backups, could take up a ton of space and a ton of time just to download.

Google is addressing that pain point with support for “Incremental Takeout for Photos.”

This allows Google Takeout to export from Photos with one full export, followed by scheduled exports that include anything new that’s been added to your library since the initial export. As Google explains:

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  • Full initial export: Your first scheduled export contains all your selected photos and albums.
  • Future exports: The next exports in your schedule include items uploaded, backed up, created, or edited since your last successful backup. This saves you time and storage space.

You can access the new option via Google Takeout by selecting only Photos as an export option. From there, you can have exports delivered every two months for the next year, with files as big as 50GB.

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Avatar for Ben Schoon Ben Schoon

Ben is a Senior Editor for 9to5Google.

Find him on Twitter @NexusBen. Send tips to schoon@9to5g.com or encrypted to benschoon@protonmail.com.