Disabling Motion Photos in Google Photos for Android Devices

Google Photos has launched an intriguing feature known as Motion Photos, which provides an experience akin to Apple’s Live Photos on newer Android devices. This functionality adds a few seconds of video-like motion to still images, offering a lively touch to your photography. However, it can become frustrating if you prefer standard static images, and the short video clips consume more storage space in your Google account. In this guide, we’ll explain how to disable Motion Photos within the Google Photos app on Android devices.

Understanding Motion Photos in Google Photos

With the introduction of Android 15, many advanced Android smartphones automatically start to generate still photos infused with motion effects. In response, Google Photos has established a similarly named Motion Photos feature for an array of recent Android devices.

This innovative feature captures several seconds of mini-video behind the scenes while taking what appears to be a still photo. When you access an image in the Google Photos app, whether on mobile or desktop, you’ll find an option to play the brief clip by toggling the Motion setting on or off.

Google Photos app on Android includes an automatic clip playback function due to Motion Photos.

Although the motion effects can be delightful, users often express annoyance over the default “Auto”mode in Android cameras, which typically operates without explicit consent. This automatic feature can be bandwidth-heavy and could lead to increased memory consumption in your Google Photos backup, adding an extra 30-50% (or approximately 1-3MB per file).

Disabling Motion Photos in Google Photos App

If you want to maintain the Motion Photos functionality without the constant playback of moving images, you have options to either pause the motion or completely deactivate auto-play.

To pause the motion, simply tap the Motion toggle on each individual photo. If viewing a slideshow of multiple images, you will need to pause each clip separately.

Pausing Motion Photos in the Google Photos app.

A more comprehensive solution is to turn off autoplay entirely, allowing you to utilize the Motion Photos feature when desired without automatically triggering playback.

To do this, open the Google Photos home screen on your Android device and click on your name, then select Photos settings.

Accessing Photos settings in Google Photos.

Next, navigate to Preferences and then choose Photo grid playback.

Finally, toggle off the Motion photos setting, which is enabled by default. Once you do this, any recorded sounds will be muted, and the video clips will cease to play automatically.

Did You Know? You can also integrate Google Photos into the Photos app on a Windows device. Furthermore, Google Photos allows users to convert images into videos and create unique remixes using its AI capabilities.

Disabling Motion Effects in Your Android Camera

Modern smartphone cameras are designed to create high-quality images using rapid burst shots, gyroscopic technology to detect movement, and stabilizing features. This has led to the automatic enablement of motion-like features in Android cameras.

To prevent Motion Photos from appearing in Google Photos, you must disable the Motion Photos or Top Shot options in your camera app. The steps to do this may differ depending on the specific Android device model you are using.

Google Pixel: In the Pixel Camera app, tap the Settings icon located at the bottom left of the Viewfinder to access Photo Settings. From there, disable the Top Shot feature.
Oppo, OnePlus, and Redmi: Open your Camera app, navigate to Photo settings, and look for a small yellow circle labeled Live Photo. Tap it once to switch it off.

Samsung Galaxy: On the Camera app, find a small yellow triangle icon that indicates Motion Photo. Tap it once to disable the feature.
Motorola: Within the Moto Camera app, click on the Settings icon located in the top-right corner, and turn off the Active photos option.

After you disable Motion Photos in your camera, the Motion toggle will no longer show up in your Google Photos.

Motion toggle disappears after disabling it in the Camera app on Android.

It’s worth noting that the Motion Photos feature was initially introduced back in 2017, but with the influx of new images, you may want to manage your storage accordingly. To help with this, you can search for photos taken since you began using this feature, allowing you to efficiently clean up any unnecessary bulk. Simply search “Motion photos”in your timeline to locate and remove these large files.

To optimize your Google Photos storage, consider backing up your images to a computer as well.

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