SmartUs Photo Sync

Two-way Google Photos sync, fully under your control

Take your albums out as original files or bring your folders in as albums. Keep your libraries up to date: start Find changes and confirm Sync — the app automatically finds and transfers the changes.

Application highlights

  • Take out or bring in

    One switch sets the direction for all albums. Switching only rebuilds the update plan; nothing changes until you sync.

    Works with every album you own in Google Photos, whether photos were added through the mobile app or uploaded on the web.

  • Original files, byte for byte

    Photos, videos and RAW files are transferred as originals, with their embedded metadata. The app never recompresses or converts them: no archives to unpack or extra files to manage.

  • Albums stay albums

    Each folder inside your main folder is an album with the same name. Downloads create the matching folders; uploads use your existing albums or create new ones.

  • No duplicates

    Files are matched by their content, not their names. Photos already in Google Photos are added to the album without uploading them again, and files already in a folder are not downloaded again.

  • Every change reviewed first

    Find changes shows the full plan for each album, and Sync applies it only after you confirm. Photos are never deleted from your Google Photos library.

  • Picks up where it stopped

    Cancel, lose your connection or restart — every completed file stays safe. The next Find changes or Sync picks up what is left, and an unfinished download is never saved as a broken file.

  • Fast with large libraries

    Four files transfer at once, file contents are checked on several processor cores, and saved results are reused on the next check. Built for huge files and very large libraries.

  • Easy to use

    A clear desktop interface in six languages, with light and dark themes. No command line, no scripts and no server to set up.

  • Private by design

    Photos travel directly between your computer and Google. Your library and your Google sign-in stay on your computer and never pass through our servers.

See the highlights in action

How it works

Three steps, from your main folder to a finished sync.

Folders in SmartUs Photo Sync

Albums in Google Photos

  1. 1

    Choose the main folder

    Open Settings → Main folder and choose the folder that holds your albums. New folders inside it are found automatically.

  2. 2

    Find changes

    Choose Take into Google Photos or Take out of Google Photos and see the plan: what will be uploaded, downloaded, added or removed.

  3. 3

    Sync

    Apply the plan to one album or the entire catalog and follow each transfer through to the final report.

The highlights in action

Pick a highlight to see it in the application.

Take out or bring in

The switch at the top sets the direction.
Here, Take out of Google Photos is on, and albums that exist only in Google Photos are ready to be saved into new folders.

Start with a free trial

Try it free in both directions, then buy access only when you need it.

Free trial

7 days · 500 file changes

No payment required. It ends automatically, with no charge.

Start free trial
Does it sync automatically?

No. “Find changes” prepares a plan, and “Sync” applies it only after you confirm. You choose the direction yourself: upload to Google Photos or download from Google Photos.

Will it change files on my computer?

Only when you download. Then Sync makes your folders match your albums: it saves missing originals and deletes photos, videos and album folders that are not in Google Photos, exactly as shown in the plan you confirmed. Hidden and unrelated files are kept. When you upload, your files are only read.

Can it replace Google Takeout?

For your albums, yes. It downloads the original files of your own albums straight into matching folders, with no archives to unpack and no JSON files to merge, and later runs transfer only the changes. Photos that are not in any album are not downloaded.

Where are my photos stored?

Your files stay on your computer, and your photos in Google Photos stay in your Google account. Photos travel directly between your computer and Google; they never pass through the SmartUs Photo Sync website and are never stored there.

Download the application

We’re working to bring the app to macOS and Linux.