What does Free up space in Google Photos do?

What exactly gets removed?

• Removed: the local file on the phone for each backed-up photo or video.
• Kept on the phone: items not yet backed up, and photos and videos fewer than 30 days old, which Google says may be retained.
• Kept in the cloud: everything. The backed-up copy is untouched.

Because the cloud copy is untouched, it still counts toward your Google storage. That is why the button can make your phone feel empty while your Google account stays full.

The size it offers is an estimate of the device copies it can remove. If backup is paused, or many recent photos are still within their first month, the figure can be much smaller than the photo count suggests.

What changes after I use it?

Google warns that you won't be able to see removed photos in your phone's built-in gallery app, because the files are gone from the device. Google Photos still shows them, streamed from the cloud, so you need a connection to view them at full size.

Apps that read files directly also lose access. A photo editor or a chat app's attachment picker can only see what is on the phone. To use a cloud-only photo there, download it again from Google Photos first.

Android asks you to confirm the deletion in a system dialog, because Google Photos is removing files from shared storage. Approving it is what actually frees the space.

Backed-up copies in the cloud keep their chosen upload quality. If you used Storage saver, the version you see later is the compressed one, so keep originals elsewhere if print quality matters.

When should I use it, and when not?

Compare it with other tools in Google Photos Free up space vs other cleaners, and see the Google Photos guide for the cloud side. If you already tapped it by mistake, read I accidentally clicked Free up space.