Automatically Back Up Photos From Your Mobile Phone to Proton Drive [Complete Guide]

Your smartphone probably contains years of important photos and videos, from family memories and travel pictures to screenshots and personal documents. Keeping all of them only on your phone can be risky because a damaged, lost, or stolen device could make those files difficult or impossible to recover.

Proton Drive provides an automatic photo backup feature for both Android and iPhone. Once enabled, the app can upload your photos and videos to your Proton Drive storage while protecting them with end-to-end encryption. Proton says photo backup keeps photos in their original quality.

The following steps explain the complete process from installing the app to checking that your photos have actually been backed up.

Automatically Back Up Photos From Your Mobile Phone to Proton Drive [Complete Guide]

To automatically back up photos from your phone to Proton Drive, install the Proton Drive app on your Android phone or iPhone, sign in to your Proton Account, open the Photos tab, and tap Turn on backup. Give Proton Drive permission to access your photos, then keep the phone connected to the internet while the initial backup completes. On Android, the default backup folder is the Camera folder, while iPhone photo backup can access your photo library after you grant full access.

Now, let’s go through the complete setup process step by step.

Step 1: Check Your Phone and Proton Drive Requirements

Before turning on automatic photo backup, make sure your phone supports the feature and that your Proton Drive account has enough available storage.

For Android, Proton currently requires Android 8.0 or later for photo backup. For iPhone and iPad, photo backup requires iOS/iPadOS 16.0 or later.

You should also check your available Proton Drive storage. Your photos and videos will be uploaded to your cloud storage, so a large photo library can require considerable space. Proton currently advertises 5 GB of free storage, with larger storage options available through paid plans.

If your phone contains thousands of photos, it is also a good idea to connect it to a charger before starting the first backup. The initial upload can take considerable time.

Step 2: Install the Proton Drive App

The next step is to install the official Proton Drive application on your smartphone.

On Android, open the Google Play Store, search for Proton Drive, and install the official app. On an iPhone, open the App Store, search for Proton Drive, and install it.

After installation, open the application. You will be asked to sign in to your Proton Account. Enter your existing Proton Account credentials. If you do not have an account, follow the registration process shown in the app.

Once you are signed in, Proton Drive will take you to its main interface.

Step 3: Open the Photos Section

After signing in, look at the navigation options inside the Proton Drive app and open the Photos section.

This is the area Proton Drive uses for managing backed-up photos and videos. If automatic backup has not yet been enabled, you should see an option such as Turn on backup or a notification indicating that photo backup is disabled.

Do not worry if you do not immediately see your entire phone gallery. Your existing photos will only begin uploading after you give the application the required permissions and activate the backup feature.

Step 4: Turn On Automatic Photo Backup

Now tap Turn on backup.

This is the most important part of the setup because simply installing Proton Drive does not automatically mean that your phone’s photos will be backed up. You must explicitly enable the photo backup feature.

Once you activate it, Proton Drive will ask for permission to access your photos and videos. The exact wording of the permission screen can differ between Android and iPhone because the two operating systems handle app permissions differently.

Allow the requested access so Proton Drive can find the photos you want to back up.

Step 5: Allow Proton Drive to Access Your Photos

On an iPhone, Proton Drive asks for access to your photos. For a complete automatic backup of your photo library, choose Allow Full Access when prompted. Proton’s current instructions specifically recommend granting full photo access for photo backup.

On Android, approve the requested photo and media permissions.

This permission is important because Proton Drive cannot back up files it cannot access. If you accidentally select a restricted permission option, some photos may not be available to Proton Drive for backup.

After permission has been granted, return to the Proton Drive app and allow the backup process to begin.

Step 6: Let Proton Drive Complete the Initial Backup

Once everything is enabled, Proton Drive begins uploading your existing photos and videos.

You should see a progress indicator showing how many items remain to be backed up. Proton says the files are encrypted before being sent to its servers, and photos are backed up in their original quality.

Do not assume that the backup has finished simply because some photos are already visible in Proton Drive. If your phone contains hundreds or thousands of files, the first backup may take a long time.

For the best results, keep your phone connected to Wi-Fi and preferably connected to a charger during the initial upload.

On iPhone, Proton recommends keeping the app open for faster backups. If you close it, keep it running in the background because force-closing the app can stop the backup.

Step 7: Configure Additional Photo Folders on Android

Android users have an additional setting worth checking.

By default, Proton Drive backs up photos from the Camera folder. If you keep important pictures in other supported folders, you can check the photo backup settings to determine which folders should be included.

Open the Proton Drive app and open the sidebar menu. Select Settings, then choose Photo backup.

Look for the Upload from section. From there, you can enable the available folders you want Proton Drive to include.

This is particularly useful if your phone stores important images outside the standard Camera folder.

Step 8: Keep Proton Drive Connected to the Internet

Automatic backup depends on your phone being able to communicate with Proton Drive’s servers.

For that reason, keep your phone connected to a reliable Wi-Fi or mobile data connection, depending on your preferences and data plan.

For a large initial backup, Wi-Fi is generally more practical because uploading hundreds of photos and videos can consume a significant amount of mobile data.

Android users should also be aware that system battery-management settings can affect backup performance. Proton recommends Unrestricted battery usage for Proton Drive if you need to speed up the initial Android backup, although this can increase battery consumption. After the initial backup is finished, you can return the setting to an optimized mode.

Step 9: Check That Your Photos Are Backed Up

After the upload has completed, open the Photos section in Proton Drive and browse through your backed-up content.

Look for the Backup complete indication. Proton says the app displays this message when the backup process has finished.

You can also sign in to Proton Drive from another supported device or the web interface and check whether your photos are available there.

This is a useful verification step because it confirms that your photos are actually stored in the cloud rather than merely being visible locally on your phone.

Step 10: Continue Using Your Phone Normally

After the initial backup is complete, you do not need to manually upload every new picture.

With automatic photo backup enabled, Proton Drive is designed to continue backing up photos and videos from your device. Proton describes the feature as automatically uploading photos and videos to its secure cloud at regular intervals.

However, remember that the backup still depends on factors such as available storage, internet connectivity, phone operating-system behavior, and app permissions.

If you take an important photo and do not immediately see it in Proton Drive, give the app some time and check its backup status before assuming something has gone wrong.

Do Not Delete Your Phone Photos Until Backup Is Verified

One common mistake is deleting photos from the phone immediately after enabling cloud backup.

Before deleting anything important, first confirm that the files have successfully reached Proton Drive.

Turning off photo backup does not delete photos that have already been backed up. Proton states that previously backed-up pictures remain in Proton Drive even after automatic backup is disabled.

If you actually want to remove a photo from Proton Drive, you need to delete it from Proton Drive separately.

Faqs

Does Proton Drive automatically back up photos?

Yes. Proton Drive supports automatic photo backup on Android and iOS, but you must first enable the feature from the Photos section and grant the necessary permissions.

Does Proton Drive compress my photos?

Proton states that its photo backup feature backs up photos in their original quality.

Is Proton Drive photo backup encrypted?

Yes. Proton says photos are end-to-end encrypted, with encryption taking place before the files are sent to its servers.

Can I use Proton Drive on both Android and iPhone?

Yes. Proton Drive offers photo backup for supported Android and iOS devices. Android requires Android 8.0 or later, while iPhone and iPad require iOS/iPadOS 16.0 or later.

Why is my first backup taking so long?

The initial backup can take considerable time when your phone contains a large number of photos and videos. Internet speed, the size of your library, battery settings, and the phone’s operating-system behavior can all affect the process. Proton specifically notes that large backups may take a long time.

What happens when Proton Drive runs out of storage?

If you reach your Proton Drive storage limit, automatic photo backup will stop. You need to free up storage or upgrade your storage plan before the backup can resume.

Will deleting a photo from my phone delete the backed-up copy?

A photo that has already been backed up remains in Proton Drive when you turn off photo backup. Proton also states that deleting photos from your device does not automatically delete the backed-up cloud copies.

Summary

Setting up automatic photo backup with Proton Drive is a straightforward way to keep another copy of your smartphone photos and videos. Install the Proton Drive app, sign in, open Photos, tap Turn on backup, grant the required permissions, and allow the initial upload to finish.

For the smoothest setup, keep your phone connected to Wi-Fi and a charger, especially when backing up a large photo library for the first time. Android users should also check which folders are included, while iPhone users should make sure Proton Drive has the appropriate photo library access.

Most importantly, verify that the initial backup is complete before deleting photos from your phone. 

Once automatic backup is properly configured, Proton Drive can continue protecting new photos without requiring you to manually upload each one.