Help Google Pixel 2 XL Photo locations File Structure

[ciusbius]

Hello Group. This is my first post and I realize I have purchased the wrong phone. Can anyone tell me what the best app is to access my Google Pixel 2XL File structure.

 

[El Presidente]

I like XPlore, but it might not be to everyones taste.

Solid Explorer is also pretty popular and may be easier to use. Bear in mind though, if you really want to take a deep look at the structure of the OS, you'll need to be rooted.

Why do you think you've purchased the wrong device btw? Most people would be pretty delighted with a Pixel 2 XL.

 

[WeeWilly]

There are a number of good file managers for Android. My favorite is ES File Explorer/Manager PRO and it think it costs $2.99 in the Google Play Store. Why do you feel that you purchased the wrong phone?

 

[codesplice]

Hi @ciusbius,

The Pixel 2 XL does have a slightly-peculiar way of storing photos captured by the Pixel Camera application. You may find that many photos exist not as standalone image files but rather an individual folder with several files inside. As a result, trying to manage photos captured by the stock Camera app using a third-party utility can often be a bit frustrating.

The best tool for viewing/managing those photos is going to be the Google Photos application which came preinstalled on your phone. That's also going to be the easiest way I know of to interact with some of the special features of the Pixel 2 camera, like portrait mode and motion photos.

Is there a compelling reason not to use Google Photos for managing your photos?

 

[ciusbius]

Hi @ciusbius,

The Pixel 2 XL does have a slightly-peculiar way of storing photos captured by the Pixel Camera application. You may find that many photos exist not as standalone image files but rather an individual folder with several files inside. As a result, trying to manage photos captured by the stock Camera app using a third-party utility can often be a bit frustrating.

The best tool for viewing/managing those photos is going to be the Google Photos application which came preinstalled on your phone. That's also going to be the easiest way I know of to interact with some of the special features of the Pixel 2 camera, like portrait mode and motion photos.

Is there a compelling reason not to use Google Photos for managing your photos?

 

[El Presidente]

Is there a compelling reason not to use Google Photos for managing your photos?

Because it's rubbish and horribly bloated?

Specifically for pic upload purposes, I'm logged in to my Google account on my wife's phone so she can take advantage of the drive/photo storage I've bought and have her pics backed up. There are times where I just want to view pics I've taken so Photos would be useless to me.

I don't want to take the thread too off topic, but do you seriously need Photos to view pics you've taken with the Pixel properly?

 

[ciusbius]

I want to use what the phone came with. I'm not one of those IT guys that tries to change everything. I want to hide some of the photo's. The second issue is that I can't create a shortcut to the folder that I put the photos in. With my G3(which i loved but started giving me keyboard errors) I can create a shortcut on the desktop for any folder. I can put photos in the folder and they aren't visible to the world when I open Photo's. This great phone of mine is always giving me voicemail errors!! Error 9004! Now if I take it back Verizon will give me a used one.
The phone's speaker leaves a very weak message on a voicemail system. I have to almost scream in my car to have the message replayed back at a audible sound. Never had that problem with the G3.
By default you can't mix live wallpapers. You have to use a static and live for either wallpaper or lock screen. I didn't search out to find these issues. I'm sooooo disappointed. My 4yr old G3 speaker, and volume is far superior to this Pixel2 XL. The only reason I didn't get anotherG3 is twice Verizon has sent me phones. The connectors were worse than the one on my phone. So I sent them back. It's gotten old. I get that. I don't really care about the Stereo Speakers it has. I care about functionality.


The Pixel 2 XL does have a slightly-peculiar way of storing photos captured by the Pixel Camera application. You may find that many photos exist not as standalone image files but rather an individual folder with several files inside. As a result, trying to manage photos captured by the stock Camera app using a third-party utility can often be a bit frustrating.

The best tool for viewing/managing those photos is going to be the Google Photos application which came preinstalled on your phone. That's also going to be the easiest way I know of to interact with some of the special features of the Pixel 2 camera, like portrait mode and motion photos.

Is there a compelling reason not to use Google Photos for managing your photos?

 

[psionandy]

Because it's rubbish and horribly bloated?

Specifically for pic upload purposes, I'm logged in to my Google account on my wife's phone so she can take advantage of the drive/photo storage I've bought and have her pics backed up. There are times where I just want to view pics I've taken so Photos would be useless to me.

I don't want to take the thread too off topic, but do you seriously need Photos to view pics you've taken with the Pixel properly?

No.. Google photos on the phone will show stuff that isn't backed up.. so Photos is fine for you.

I've also used Focus gallery, and that works fine as well...

And plugging my phone in, and copying photos across to my laptop (when i'm in the middle of wales without a decent network connection) works fine as well... Pixel 2 (not XL) but i'm fairly sure they work the same, and i haven't had to do anything different or clever...

 

[ciusbius]

Sorry I thought I previous response was lost. I see it listed above.
Unfortunately I lost the previous response. So, I will try to make this short and sweet. I BOUGHT THE WRONG PHONE. My 4yr old LGG3 is superior to this brand new super phone everybody claims they are getting when they buy the Google Pixel 2 XL.
1. When the phone is in my car. The Google Pixel is horrible at leaving a audible message on a VM system. In my car I have to almost yell for the receiving VM system to get a audible message. With my G3 I have to lower my voice so it isn't as to loud.
2. Last night I found that the flashlight is almost useless. I've tried a number of apps in the app store and the light on the Pixel just sucks!!
3. You can't mix and match live wallpaper. I called Google and they even created a ticket on the issue. I called Verizon and they couldn't figure it out as well. I had to take it to the Verizon store down the street. And the girl and I figured out you can't MIX AND MATCH live wall papers. By default if you try(which I did not intentionally looking for this fault) try to set a live wallpaper first you can't select either Wallpaper or Lock Screen. It will set them both. I thought their was something wrong with the phone. It won't give you the option of Lockscreen or Wallpaper. It's just how it is made. You must have one or the other with a static Wallpaper.
4. A constant VM error message. Enough said!!
5. EVERY PICTURE I TAKE IS VISIBLE. This is the most ridiculous issue. Every photo is visible. You can't create a folder and put a photo in it without it being visible in Google Photos. I should not have to download an app with this GREAT phone of mine to hide photo's. I also don't have an archive option!! With my G3 I can create a folder and put photo's in it. They are not visible until I go into that folder. Just like my PC. I should be made to put photo's in Google backup if I don't want to.
6. It's jacking up my Polar training information. I compete in Duathlons and I have an app that records my workouts. The info is scattered throughout the phone. And is visible in Google Photos. UUUGGGHHH!!

I'm not one of those IT guys that looks for issues. I'm just trying to use the phone. Google's true Android sucks. I will never buy a Google phone again. Who care about a blue tint.

 

[ciusbius]

Sorry I'm getting use to the structure of the forum

 

[psionandy]

I have an LG3 in our house.. Its a really nice phone... and has a lot of good going for it...

Also have a Pixel 2, which is a definite step up in virtually every area (apart from those who still want a removable battery and SD card slot). Form factor is different, but its incredibly similar to the 2XL in most ways.

1) We use voicemail at work all the time... I've never had a problem leaving a voicemail for anyone at all.... and picking up voicemail that people have left for me works fine. Calls from car, street, busy office full of people talking over each other work fine... i tend to use headsets... but have done that with virtually every phone i've ever used.

2) Works for me... maybe the pixel2xl uses a different bulb?

3) not sure what you mean by mixing and matching live wallpaper.. if thats an issue you want to discuss, feel free to spin off that in a new thread, and we'll see what we can work out.

4) VM error, Verizon? Virgin Mobile? Voicemail? what does it say?

5) I have pictures on my phone that google photos doesn't see...you can turn sync off for photos as well

6) not sure what you've done there (see 5), But if an app is scattering information throughout your phone.. its a bad app.


Now, I realise that someone on a forum saying they don't have the problems you have isn't a solution to your issues... but i don't think they are intrinsic to the phone itself. The good news is that they look resolvable.

On the other hand, the 2XL does seem to have a very high resale value.. so you could always sell it and buy a different handset for the remainder of your contract.

 

[codesplice]

I don't want to take the thread too off topic, but do you seriously need Photos to view pics you've taken with the Pixel properly?

Absolutely not, you can view photos in whatever app you prefer. The Photos app just might do a simpler job of presenting the photos captured on a Pixel phone. When you use Portrait Mode, the camera actually stores two copies of the image - one with the blur added and one without. When you shoot in Burst Mode, the camera stores a dozen or more images. Photos displays these image sets as single thumbnails with the ability to switch between them. If you use another gallery app you may see a bunch of near-duplicate images since they wouldn't be automatically bundled.

Of course, if you want to organize the images on your own then you'll probably find Photos lacking. *shrug* Up to you to find what works best for your particular use case.

Unfortunately I lost the previous response. So, I will try to make this short and sweet. I BOUGHT THE WRONG PHONE. My 4yr old LGG3 is superior to this brand new super phone everybody claims they are getting when they buy the Google Pixel 2 XL.

If you did indeed buy the wrong phone then I'm afraid there's not a whole lot we can do for you here. I would however like to help in whatever way I can. Maybe we can work together to figure out a way for you to be at least slightly-less-disappointed with your Pixel 2 XL.

1. When the phone is in my car. The Google Pixel is horrible at leaving a audible message on a VM system. In my car I have to almost yell for the receiving VM system to get a audible message. With my G3 I have to lower my voice so it isn't as to loud.

You say "in my car." How are you using the phone in the car? Are you pairing it via Bluetooth with your car stereo or perhaps with a headset? Or just using it on speakerphone? There are a lot of variables that could be at play here so it would be a big help if you could eliminate a few of them.

Do you have trouble with people hearing you on calls or is it only when leaving a voice message? And is that for every voicemail system?

2. Last night I found that the flashlight is almost useless. I've tried a number of apps in the app store and the light on the Pixel just sucks!!

Are you activating the flashlight via the Flashlight quick settings toggle? Is it just not bright enough or is there something else wrong with it? If you open the Camera app, switch to the Video mode, and turn on the flash there, is it similarly unable to illuminate the scene?

3. You can't mix and match live wallpaper. I called Google and they even created a ticket on the issue. I called Verizon and they couldn't figure it out as well. I had to take it to the Verizon store down the street. And the girl and I figured out you can't MIX AND MATCH live wall papers. By default if you try(which I did not intentionally looking for this fault) try to set a live wallpaper first you can't select either Wallpaper or Lock Screen. It will set them both. I thought their was something wrong with the phone. It won't give you the option of Lockscreen or Wallpaper. It's just how it is made. You must have one or the other with a static Wallpaper.

I imagine this is an intentional design decision. Keep in mind that a live wallpaper is an app which is (by necessity) constantly running in the background. Enabling a live wallpaper will always make the phone's battery drain a bit more quickly. If you were able to enable a second live wallpaper then it would essentially double the added drain - not to mention the memory required to run the two wallpaper apps simultaneously. I'm guessing the experience might be degraded as the system would struggle to switch wallpaper apps each time you unlock the phone.

Now They could probably find ways to minimize the impact of that, but this is honestly the first time I've heard of someone pointing out that limitation. It's possible that Google's developers may not be aware that there is a demand to run separate live wallpapers on the home screen and lock screen. In that case, I'd strongly encourage you to let them know that the demand exists via Settings > System > About phone > Send feedback about this device.

4. A constant VM error message. Enough said!!

Is it the message that says "we're having trouble connecting to your voice mailbox" or another one? Did you set up visual voicemail in the Phone app or are you accessing your messages some other way?

5. EVERY PICTURE I TAKE IS VISIBLE. This is the most ridiculous issue. Every photo is visible. You can't create a folder and put a photo in it without it being visible in Google Photos. I should not have to download an app with this GREAT phone of mine to hide photo's. I also don't have an archive option!! With my G3 I can create a folder and put photo's in it. They are not visible until I go into that folder. Just like my PC. I should be made to put photo's in Google backup if I don't want to.

I'll give you that Google Photos does a pretty poor job of informing users how it actually works. It's actually quite possible to prevent the photos you take from being in the main view which appears when you open the app - but first you should know that the main view displays images from two sources: The Cloud and the default Camera folder. Images which are already synced to Google Photos online will appear here, as will those which have been captured using the stock Camera application

To view only images locally stored on your device within the Google Photos app, swipe from the left edge of the screen to expand the navigation drawer and then tap the Device folders label. This view shows the folders on your device which contain images; those may be photos you've captured with the stock Camera app, photos you've edited with third-party apps, screenshots you've taken, or (in some cases) cached photos used by third-party apps (a sure sign of a lazy developer, as @psionandy mentioned).

You can descend into an existing folder (like the Camera folder), long-press an image or two (or fifteen), tap the menu button, and select the Move/Copy to folder option to move/copy the selected images into an existing folder or to create a new one.

If you don't want a set of images to appear in the main Photos view all you have to do is prevent it from backing up. Just tap on the folder thumbnail and then toggle the Back up & sync option at the top of the screen. The photos within that folder will then be ignored - they won't be backed up to Google and (as a result) will not appear on the main screen of the Photos app.

By the way, you can also archive photos which have been backed up. This will hide them from the main Photos view but make them visible if you search for them or add them to an album. Do this by long-pressing an image from the main view, tapping the menu button, and selecting Archive.

6. It's jacking up my Polar training information. I compete in Duathlons and I have an app that records my workouts. The info is scattered throughout the phone. And is visible in Google Photos. UUUGGGHHH!!

See above. I bet that if you look in the Device folders view you'll see a folder for the Polar app. Disable Back up & sync for that folder and that should prevent any new images from being sucked up. (It won't automatically remove images which have already been backed up - you can choose to delete or archive those as you see fit.)

I'm not one of those IT guys that looks for issues. I'm just trying to use the phone. Google's true Android sucks. I will never buy a Google phone again. Who care about a blue tint.

I hear you. I actually am one of those nerds that enjoys looking for issues. While the Pixel 2 works pretty well for my needs I'll readily admit that it's far from perfect. I really spam those Send feedback options when I run into things that don't work the way I expect them to, and I truly encourage you to do the same. Everyone uses their phones in different ways so I think it's important for the developers to hear what you expect the phone to do. They can use that data to influence future releases.

In the mean time, the members of this forum are here to help out however we can.

 

[fuadbest1978]

I actually those who needs these one pixel 2

 

[hustlebby210]

Im new at this

 

[ciusbius]

I want to use what the phone came with. I'm not one of those IT guys that tries to change everything. I want to hide some of the photo's. The second issue is that I can't create a shortcut to the folder that I put the photos in. With my G3(which i loved but started giving me keyboard errors) I can create a shortcut on the desktop for any folder. I can put photos in the folder and they aren't visible to the world when I open Photo's. This great phone of mine is always giving me voicemail errors!! Error 9004! Now if I take it back Verizon will give me a used one.
The phone's speaker leaves a very weak message on a voicemail system. I have to almost scream in my car to have the message replayed back at a audible sound. Never had that problem with the G3.
By default you can't mix live wallpapers. You have to use a static and live for either wallpaper or lock screen. I didn't search out to find these issues. I'm sooooo disappointed. My 4yr old G3 speaker, and volume is far superior to this Pixel2 XL. The only reason I didn't get anotherG3 is twice Verizon has sent me phones. The connectors were worse than the one on my phone. So I sent them back. It's gotten old. I get that. I don't really care about the Stereo Speakers it has. I care about functionality.


The Pixel 2 XL does have a slightly-peculiar way of storing photos captured by the Pixel Camera application. You may find that many photos exist not as standalone image files but rather an individual folder with several files inside. As a result, trying to manage photos captured by the stock Camera app using a third-party utility can often be a bit frustrating.

The best tool for viewing/managing those photos is going to be the Google Photos application which came preinstalled on your phone. That's also going to be the easiest way I know of to interact with some of the special features of the Pixel 2 camera, like portrait mode and motion photos.

Is there a compelling reason not to use Google Photos for managing your photos?

****************************************************************************************************************************
The compelling reason is that every photo is visible and I can't seem to make the phone not show every picture I put in a photo app. Even if I create a folder and name it something else. They are still visible.

 

[codesplice]

****************************************************************************************************************************
The compelling reason is that every photo is visible and I can't seem to make the phone not show every picture I put in a photo app. Even if I create a folder and name it something else. They are still visible.

I'll give you that Google Photos does a pretty poor job of informing users how it actually works. It's actually quite possible to prevent the photos you take from being in the main view which appears when you open the app - but first you should know that the main view displays images from two sources: The Cloud and the default Camera folder. Images which are already synced to Google Photos online will appear here, as will those which have been captured using the stock Camera application

To view only images locally stored on your device within the Google Photos app, swipe from the left edge of the screen to expand the navigation drawer and then tap the Device folders label. This view shows the folders on your device which contain images; those may be photos you've captured with the stock Camera app, photos you've edited with third-party apps, screenshots you've taken, or (in some cases) cached photos used by third-party apps (a sure sign of a lazy developer, as @psionandy mentioned).

You can descend into an existing folder (like the Camera folder), long-press an image or two (or fifteen), tap the menu button, and select the Move/Copy to folder option to move/copy the selected images into an existing folder or to create a new one.

If you don't want a set of images to appear in the main Photos view all you have to do is prevent it from backing up. Just tap on the folder thumbnail and then toggle the Back up & sync option at the top of the screen. The photos within that folder will then be ignored - they won't be backed up to Google and (as a result) will not appear on the main screen of the Photos app.

By the way, you can also archive photos which have been backed up. This will hide them from the main Photos view but make them visible if you search for them or add them to an album. Do this by long-pressing an image from the main view, tapping the menu button, and selecting Archive.

 

[ciusbius]

Absolutely not, you can view photos in whatever app you prefer. The Photos app just might do a simpler job of presenting the photos captured on a Pixel phone. When you use Portrait Mode, the camera actually stores two copies of the image - one with the blur added and one without. When you shoot in Burst Mode, the camera stores a dozen or more images. Photos displays these image sets as single thumbnails with the ability to switch between them. If you use another gallery app you may see a bunch of near-duplicate images since they wouldn't be automatically bundled.

Of course, if you want to organize the images on your own then you'll probably find Photos lacking. *shrug* Up to you to find what works best for your particular use case.



If you did indeed buy the wrong phone then I'm afraid there's not a whole lot we can do for you here. I would however like to help in whatever way I can. Maybe we can work together to figure out a way for you to be at least slightly-less-disappointed with your Pixel 2 XL.



You say "in my car." How are you using the phone in the car? Are you pairing it via Bluetooth with your car stereo or perhaps with a headset? Or just using it on speakerphone? There are a lot of variables that could be at play here so it would be a big help if you could eliminate a few of them.

Do you have trouble with people hearing you on calls or is it only when leaving a voice message? And is that for every voicemail system?



Are you activating the flashlight via the Flashlight quick settings toggle? Is it just not bright enough or is there something else wrong with it? If you open the Camera app, switch to the Video mode, and turn on the flash there, is it similarly unable to illuminate the scene?



I imagine this is an intentional design decision. Keep in mind that a live wallpaper is an app which is (by necessity) constantly running in the background. Enabling a live wallpaper will always make the phone's battery drain a bit more quickly. If you were able to enable a second live wallpaper then it would essentially double the added drain - not to mention the memory required to run the two wallpaper apps simultaneously. I'm guessing the experience might be degraded as the system would struggle to switch wallpaper apps each time you unlock the phone.

Now They could probably find ways to minimize the impact of that, but this is honestly the first time I've heard of someone pointing out that limitation. It's possible that Google's developers may not be aware that there is a demand to run separate live wallpapers on the home screen and lock screen. In that case, I'd strongly encourage you to let them know that the demand exists via Settings > System > About phone > Send feedback about this device.



Is it the message that says "we're having trouble connecting to your voice mailbox" or another one? Did you set up visual voicemail in the Phone app or are you accessing your messages some other way?



I'll give you that Google Photos does a pretty poor job of informing users how it actually works. It's actually quite possible to prevent the photos you take from being in the main view which appears when you open the app - but first you should know that the main view displays images from two sources: The Cloud and the default Camera folder. Images which are already synced to Google Photos online will appear here, as will those which have been captured using the stock Camera application

To view only images locally stored on your device within the Google Photos app, swipe from the left edge of the screen to expand the navigation drawer and then tap the Device folders label. This view shows the folders on your device which contain images; those may be photos you've captured with the stock Camera app, photos you've edited with third-party apps, screenshots you've taken, or (in some cases) cached photos used by third-party apps (a sure sign of a lazy developer, as @psionandy mentioned).

You can descend into an existing folder (like the Camera folder), long-press an image or two (or fifteen), tap the menu button, and select the Move/Copy to folder option to move/copy the selected images into an existing folder or to create a new one.

If you don't want a set of images to appear in the main Photos view all you have to do is prevent it from backing up. Just tap on the folder thumbnail and then toggle the Back up & sync option at the top of the screen. The photos within that folder will then be ignored - they won't be backed up to Google and (as a result) will not appear on the main screen of the Photos app.

By the way, you can also archive photos which have been backed up. This will hide them from the main Photos view but make them visible if you search for them or add them to an album. Do this by long-pressing an image from the main view, tapping the menu button, and selecting Archive.



See above. I bet that if you look in the Device folders view you'll see a folder for the Polar app. Disable Back up & sync for that folder and that should prevent any new images from being sucked up. (It won't automatically remove images which have already been backed up - you can choose to delete or archive those as you see fit.)



I hear you. I actually am one of those nerds that enjoys looking for issues. While the Pixel 2 works pretty well for my needs I'll readily admit that it's far from perfect. I really spam those Send feedback options when I run into things that don't work the way I expect them to, and I truly encourage you to do the same. Everyone uses their phones in different ways so I think it's important for the developers to hear what you expect the phone to do. They can use that data to influence future releases.

In the mean time, the members of this forum are here to help out however we can.

********************************************************************************************************************
The Google Drive has grabbed my workout data in picture form. It should not have done that. I now have to be very careful not to delete it.

 

[ciusbius]

Absolutely not, you can view photos in whatever app you prefer. The Photos app just might do a simpler job of presenting the photos captured on a Pixel phone. When you use Portrait Mode, the camera actually stores two copies of the image - one with the blur added and one without. When you shoot in Burst Mode, the camera stores a dozen or more images. Photos displays these image sets as single thumbnails with the ability to switch between them. If you use another gallery app you may see a bunch of near-duplicate images since they wouldn't be automatically bundled.

Of course, if you want to organize the images on your own then you'll probably find Photos lacking. *shrug* Up to you to find what works best for your particular use case.



If you did indeed buy the wrong phone then I'm afraid there's not a whole lot we can do for you here. I would however like to help in whatever way I can. Maybe we can work together to figure out a way for you to be at least slightly-less-disappointed with your Pixel 2 XL.



You say "in my car." How are you using the phone in the car? Are you pairing it via Bluetooth with your car stereo or perhaps with a headset? Or just using it on speakerphone? There are a lot of variables that could be at play here so it would be a big help if you could eliminate a few of them.

Do you have trouble with people hearing you on calls or is it only when leaving a voice message? And is that for every voicemail system?



Are you activating the flashlight via the Flashlight quick settings toggle? Is it just not bright enough or is there something else wrong with it? If you open the Camera app, switch to the Video mode, and turn on the flash there, is it similarly unable to illuminate the scene?



I imagine this is an intentional design decision. Keep in mind that a live wallpaper is an app which is (by necessity) constantly running in the background. Enabling a live wallpaper will always make the phone's battery drain a bit more quickly. If you were able to enable a second live wallpaper then it would essentially double the added drain - not to mention the memory required to run the two wallpaper apps simultaneously. I'm guessing the experience might be degraded as the system would struggle to switch wallpaper apps each time you unlock the phone.

Now They could probably find ways to minimize the impact of that, but this is honestly the first time I've heard of someone pointing out that limitation. It's possible that Google's developers may not be aware that there is a demand to run separate live wallpapers on the home screen and lock screen. In that case, I'd strongly encourage you to let them know that the demand exists via Settings > System > About phone > Send feedback about this device.
**********************************************************************************
I haven't changed any settings. I've since created a folder again to try to import photo's so they won't be shown. The phone is finally not showing the photo's I've copied to it. I don't know what changed! That is the most confusing thing.


Is it the message that says "we're having trouble connecting to your voice mailbox" or another one? Did you set up visual voicemail in the Phone app or are you accessing your messages some other way?



I'll give you that Google Photos does a pretty poor job of informing users how it actually works. It's actually quite possible to prevent the photos you take from being in the main view which appears when you open the app - but first you should know that the main view displays images from two sources: The Cloud and the default Camera folder. Images which are already synced to Google Photos online will appear here, as will those which have been captured using the stock Camera application

To view only images locally stored on your device within the Google Photos app, swipe from the left edge of the screen to expand the navigation drawer and then tap the Device folders label. This view shows the folders on your device which contain images; those may be photos you've captured with the stock Camera app, photos you've edited with third-party apps, screenshots you've taken, or (in some cases) cached photos used by third-party apps (a sure sign of a lazy developer, as @psionandy mentioned).

You can descend into an existing folder (like the Camera folder), long-press an image or two (or fifteen), tap the menu button, and select the Move/Copy to folder option to move/copy the selected images into an existing folder or to create a new one.

If you don't want a set of images to appear in the main Photos view all you have to do is prevent it from backing up. Just tap on the folder thumbnail and then toggle the Back up & sync option at the top of the screen. The photos within that folder will then be ignored - they won't be backed up to Google and (as a result) will not appear on the main screen of the Photos app.

By the way, you can also archive photos which have been backed up. This will hide them from the main Photos view but make them visible if you search for them or add them to an album. Do this by long-pressing an image from the main view, tapping the menu button, and selecting Archive.



See above. I bet that if you look in the Device folders view you'll see a folder for the Polar app. Disable Back up & sync for that folder and that should prevent any new images from being sucked up. (It won't automatically remove images which have already been backed up - you can choose to delete or archive those as you see fit.)



I hear you. I actually am one of those nerds that enjoys looking for issues. While the Pixel 2 works pretty well for my needs I'll readily admit that it's far from perfect. I really spam those Send feedback options when I run into things that don't work the way I expect them to, and I truly encourage you to do the same. Everyone uses their phones in different ways so I think it's important for the developers to hear what you expect the phone to do. They can use that data to influence future releases.

In the mean time, the members of this forum are here to help out however we can.

 

[ciusbius]

The phone found the photos in the folder I created and made them visible. This crazy!! This phone keeps making all of my photo's visible. Every picture I take or download is visible on this phone. I go into Stroage>>>Files>>>Folder I created.

 

[codesplice]

Have you tried going into Google Photos > Device folders and disabling back up and sync for those folders?

 

[ciusbius]

Have you tried going into Google Photos > Device folders and disabling back up and sync for those folders?

*******************************************************************
Thats funny! I was looking how to make a device folder. That is when they are not visible. Backup is turned off.

 

[ciusbius]

First of all I would like to thank everyone for their help with the file structure I get it. IT'S A DIFFERENT TYPE OF PHONE!! Anyway, I've downloaded File Manager and it's working fine. uuuggghhh!!!

 

[ciusbius]

Have you tried going into Google Photos > Device folders and disabling back up and sync for those folders?

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Thanks for your help!! I appreciate it.