Android tablet:
Cloud backup and photo sharing
This course shows you how you can back up photos and other important documents with the cloud. You'll also learn how you can share photos with friends and family from your Android tablet using the cloud.
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Transcript
Welcome to the "Android tablet: Cloud backup and photo sharing" course. When you create a Google Account to sign in to your Android tablet, you also get free cloud services that let you back up your files, photos and videos. You can also synchronise, or sync, your photos, videos, and files across different devices, such as your smartphone, tablet and computer. A Google Account also comes with lots of free software, such as a word processor, spreadsheet, calendar, and much more. And it also comes with the Google Assistant, which accepts voice commands to search the web, set reminders, and many other useful things.
In this course, you'll learn how to use Google Photos to back up your photos and videos so that you can see them on any device and share them with friends and family. Now, there are lots of different models of Android tablet and they're all slightly different, so some of the steps in this video might look a bit different on your tablet. Don't worry, though. You'll still be able to follow along. It should take around 13 minutes to complete the video, but you can pause or rewind to check any steps you're unsure about. Before you begin, check that your tablet is fully charged and has the latest version of its operating software. You'll need an internet connection over home Wi-Fi or via a mobile data account and plan, and you'll need to have the Google Photos app installed on your tablet and be signed in to your Google Account with your email address and password. Finally, your Android tablet should be switched on, unlocked, and showing the Home screen.
Let's start by learning how we can back up our photos to the cloud and share them with friends and family. First, find the Google Photos app, which looks like four colourful semi-circles. It's important to open the Google Photos app, not your tablet maker's Gallery app. Some Android tablets might call their Gallery app Your Photos, or something like that, but these are not what we're after. Rather, we're looking for the Photos app. You may need to swipe up on your tablet to see it on your App screen, but in our demonstration, it's on the Home screen inside the Google folder. Let's tap on that. We found it! But if you can't find the Photos app on your tablet, you can download it for free from the Google Play store. Tap the Photos app icon to open the app.
If this is the first time you've used the Photos app, it will ask permission to access photos and other files on your tablet. This is necessary for the app to work properly and is safe to do. Tap Allow. The next screen shows options for backing up the photos and videos on your tablet to your Google Account. First, you need to choose the quality at which you store your photos. If the original option is not already highlighted, tap it so that the box around it becomes blue. Below that, the 'Back up over mobile data' option lets you set your photos and videos to be backed up using the mobile data network when there's no Wi-Fi available. Using mobile data can be expensive, so let's leave this setting off. The switch should remain grey. Now tap the Turn on backup button. Your tablet may then offer a slideshow about what you can do with Google Photos. You can tap Next in the bottom-right corner to see the information, but for our demonstration, we'll tap Skip on the left to move on to the next step.
The Google Photos main screen appears, showing your photos and videos. You'll also see your Google Account profile icon in the top right. In our example, it's a circle with an initial, but yours may be an image or a photo. If it has a blue line moving around it, the photos and videos on your tablet are being backed up to the cloud. Tap on your profile icon. A box will pop up with some information that helps you manage Google Photos. The box will show that your photos are backing up. Below this, the 'Account storage' section shows you how much space your photos and videos take up in the cloud. Your Google Account comes with 15 gigabytes of free cloud storage, and when this runs out, you will need to purchase more or delete some photos or other files from the cloud. Now, tap on Account Storage.
A new page opens, titled Back up & sync. The Back up & sync switch should be blue, which means it's on. This means that every time you take a photo or video using your tablet, the Photos app will back them up to your Google Account cloud storage. To stop backing up your photos and videos, you can tap the switch so that the button becomes grey. Below this, you'll see your name and Google Account details, plus a button you can tap to purchase more cloud storage. For now, tap the back arrow at the top left to return to the Google Photos pop-up box. Below Account Storage, you might see something like 'Free up space'. You can tap the 'Free up' button to open a new screen with information about how to safely remove photos from your tablet to free up space on your device. If your tablet is not connected to the internet, you won't be able to see the photos that are stored in your cloud account. Just before we finish with the Photos app, let's check how the backup is going. The backup is complete and the photos from your tablet are now saved to the cloud. Now, let's return to the Google Photos main page by closing the box. Tap the cross in the top left of the pop up. You can also use the cloud and your tablet's messaging app to share photos with friends and family by sending them a link.
A link lets you share files that are too large to attach to a message, so it's good for sending multiple photos and videos. Let's look at how to share a few photos via a link now. From the Google Photos main page, choose a photo to share by tapping and holding your finger on the photo until a blue tick appears in the top-left corner of the photo. You can now see the other photos have a pale white circle in their top-left corner. Tap additional photos to add them to the link you're about to share. A blue tick will appear on those photos, too. When you have selected all the photos you want, look at the top right of the screen. You'll see the Share icon, which is three circles connected by lines. Tap the Share icon to view the Share panel. If the Photos app asks permission to access your contacts, tap Allow, and the Share panel will open. Now look for an icon labelled Create link and tap it. You'll see a message saying that the link is being created. When it is ready, you will see a coloured bar labelled, 'Link copied. Share it in an app'. Below this, you can see some icons. You could share the link in an email, but we're going to use our tablet's messages app. The icon for this looks like a speech bubble. Tap it now.
Your contacts list opens so you can choose who to send the link to. You can search for a specific name, or enter a mobile number, or scroll through the contacts list until you find the person you want to send the link to, and tap their name. Look for Done in the top-right corner and tap it to open a new message with the link already copied into the message box. You can add a personal note here, too. Make sure to press the space bar first so your note doesn't mess up the link. Tap the Send icon to send the link to your friend or family member. When they receive the link, all they have to do is tap on it. The web browser on their Android tablet or phone will open, and the photos you've shared will be displayed as a grid ready to view. The recipient can only download these photos to their tablet or smartphone if they are also signed into their own Google Account. If they are signed in, they can tap the Comment icon to respond. They can tap the heart to say they love the photos or leave a comment. Now that you shared your photos, press the Home button to return to the home screen and finish this course. Congratulations.
You have learned how to use your Android tablet to back up your photos to the cloud and share them with friends. When you're ready, you can learn how to use your Windows computer to access the photos you've backed up to the cloud by watching the Windows desktop or laptop video called, "Sharing Photos and Location With The Cloud."