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Photos

AI automation to tidy a photo backup

Checks that pictures are actually saved, clears space only after that, and sorts screenshots from the photos you meant to keep.

Level: Assist.

Trigger

Once a month, or when the phone says storage is full

Setup

about 20 min (estimate)

Before you start

Steps

  1. Turn backup on

    Use Google Photos or iCloud Photos, not both fighting over the same phone. Google Photos backup: https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6193313 iCloud Photos: https://support.apple.com/en-us/108782

  2. Wait until the counts match

    Compare the number of items on the phone with the number in the backup. Stop if they differ. Do not free space yet. How to check Google Photos backup: https://support.google.com/photos/answer/9343402

  3. Free space only after that

    When the counts match, use the free-up-space tool. Read the warning. On a phone that keeps a Recently Deleted album, empty that too if the help page says so. Free up space: https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6128843

  4. Sort junk from documents

    Search screenshots and delete the ones you do not need. Search receipts and documents and move those into albums instead of deleting them. The chat can suggest search words. You press delete.

    I tidy a photo library. Suggest three searches I can type: screenshots, receipts, and documents, plus one more search for near-duplicates. For each search, say delete, move to an album, or leave. Never tell me to delete receipts or documents. I will run the searches myself. You do not have my photos.

  5. Share one album on purpose

    Create an album that keeps adding photos of one person, and invite only the people who should see them. Check the invite list before you send it.

  6. Repeat on the first of the month

    A monthly reminder is enough: counts still match, new screenshots reviewed, shared album still goes to the right people.

Example output

Backup
- Phone library: 12,480 items. Backed up: 12,480. Status: complete.
Cleared after that
- Screenshots from the last year: review, then delete the ones that are not instructions you need.
- Receipts and document photos: moved to their own album, not deleted.
Share: one album of the child's recent photos, shared with the other parent.

Power move

Search screenshots, receipts, and documents as three separate passes, and delete only the screenshots you do not need. Receipts and documents go to an album. A shared album can keep sending new photos of a person to the people you pick.

What to check

  • The backed-up count matches the phone library before anything is deleted.
  • Receipts and document photos are still in an album.
  • A shared album includes only the people you meant to invite.

What it can't do

It does not delete a photo that is not backed up. Free-up-space removes copies from the phone only after backup has finished, and on some phones you also empty Recently Deleted. It cannot recover a photo you delete from the backup itself.

Privacy

Paste only the text a chat tool needs. Leave out passwords, account numbers, and identity numbers. The steps link to each tool's own help page when a setting matters.

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