How to Find Screenshots in Google Photos

If you take a lot of screenshots on your phone, Google Photos can quickly bury them under photos of food, pets, and sunsets. This guide shows you how to locate every screenshot you’ve taken, whether you’re using the mobile app on Android or iPhone, or the web version on a computer. You’ll learn the fastest search methods, how to organize them into albums, and what to do when your screenshots don’t appear at all.

What You’ll Need

• An active Google account with Google Photos installed and signed in.
• Backup enabled (if you want to find screenshots across all your devices, not just the one you’re holding).
• An internet connection for the initial search, though cached results may work offline.

Step-by-Step

Method 1: Using the Search Bar (Fastest)

1. Open the Google Photos app on your phone or go to photos.google.com on your computer.
2. Tap or click the Search bar at the top of the screen. On Android, it looks like a magnifying glass; on iPhone, it’s a dedicated search field. On the web, it’s a text box that says “Search your photos.”
3. Type the word “screenshots” (without quotes) and press Enter or tap the first suggestion that appears.
4. Google Photos will now show a grid of every image it has identified as a screenshot. This includes full-screen captures, partial screenshots, and even long scrolling captures.
5. If you want to narrow it down further, tap the “Screenshots” chip that appears under the search bar. This filters out any non-screenshot images that might have slipped into the results.

Method 2: Using the Library Tab (Android Only)

1. Open Google Photos and tap the Library tab (the icon that looks like a stack of photos) at the bottom right on Android.
2. Scroll down to the “Albums” section and look for an album named “Screenshots.” Google automatically creates this album on Android devices.
3. Tap the album to view all screenshots in one place. This album updates automatically as you take new screenshots.
4. Note: On iPhone, this album is not created automatically. Use the search method above instead.

Method 3: Using the Web Version

1. Go to photos.google.com in any desktop browser.
2. Sign in with the same Google account you use on your phone.
3. Click the Search bar at the top and type “screenshots.”
4. Press Enter. The results will show every screenshot backed up from any connected device.
5. To save this search for later, click the heart icon (Save search) next to the search bar. You can then access it from the left sidebar under “Saved searches.”

Method 4: Using Voice Search

1. In the Google Photos app, tap the microphone icon in the search bar.
2. Say “show my screenshots” or simply “screenshots.”
3. Google will run the same search as typing, but hands-free.

Common Mistakes

• Typing “screen shot” with a space: Google Photos treats “screenshot” as one word. Searching with a space may return fewer or different results.
• Looking in the wrong account: If you have multiple Google accounts, screenshots might be backed up to a different one. Check the account avatar in the top right corner.
• Assuming all screenshots are in one album: On iPhone and web, there is no automatic “Screenshots” album. Only the search method works reliably.
• Forgetting to back up: If you turned off backup for your device, screenshots taken on that device will not show up in Google Photos at all. They only exist locally on your phone.
• Searching for “screenshot” in the wrong language: If your Google account is set to a different language, the search term may need to be in that language (e.g., “capturas de pantalla” in Spanish).

Tips

• Create your own album: Once you find your screenshots, select them all (tap and hold the first one, then tap the rest), tap the + icon, and choose Album. Name it “Screenshots” and it will be easier to access later, though it won’t auto-update.
• Use date filters: In the search results, tap the funnel icon to filter by date range. This helps when you’re looking for a specific screenshot from a particular month.
• Pin the search: On the web, saved searches appear in the left sidebar. On mobile, you can add a shortcut to the search on your home screen by using the browser’s “Add to Home Screen” feature.
• Use the “Explore” tab: On mobile, the Search page already shows a “Screenshots” category card under “Albums” or “Categories.” Tap it directly without typing.
• Check “Utilities”: In the Library tab, tap Utilities then “Screenshots” to see a curated collection, including any that were automatically created from long captures.

Troubleshooting

No results appear when you search “screenshots.” This usually means backup is off. Open the Google Photos app, tap your profile picture, select Photos settings > Backup & sync, and turn it on. Wait a few minutes for the upload to complete, then search again. If you only want screenshots backed up, you can also enable “Back up device folders” and specifically select the Screenshots folder.

Screenshots appear on your phone but not on the web. Check that the device is connected to Wi-Fi (or has mobile data allowed for backup). Also confirm you’re signed into the same Google account on both. If the phone was recently reset or the app was reinstalled, backup may have paused.

The search returns photos that aren’t screenshots. Google’s AI sometimes misclassifies images with text or diagrams. Use the “Screenshots” chip filter to tighten results. If a photo is wrongly included, you can manually move it out by selecting it and choosing “Remove from results” (this only affects the search, not the original file).

Screenshots are in Google Photos but missing from the Screenshots album. The automatic album is only created on Android and only includes screenshots taken after the album was first generated. Older ones may not be included. Use the search method to find them all.

You can’t find a screenshot from a specific app. Some apps (like banking or secure messaging) block screenshots entirely. If you never saw a thumbnail flash on your screen, the screenshot was never taken. For others, the screenshot may be saved in the app’s own folder (e.g., WhatsApp images) and not in the system Screenshots folder. Search for the app name in Google Photos instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do screenshots count against my Google storage? Yes. Unless you have a Pixel device (which gets free unlimited storage for photos), screenshots are full-resolution images and count toward your 15 GB free storage limit.

Can I find screenshots on Google Photos if I deleted them from my phone? If they were backed up before deletion, yes. They remain in Google Photos. If backup was off, they are gone permanently.

Why does Google Photos sometimes put screenshots in “Memories”? Google’s algorithm may treat a screenshot as a memorable photo if it contains people or a significant event. You can hide it by tapping the three-dot menu on the memory and selecting “Hide this memory.”

Is there a way to search for screenshots by app? Not directly. But you can search for the app name (e.g., “Twitter” or “Gmail”) and Google Photos will often show screenshots that contain that app’s interface.

Can I move screenshots to a separate folder on my phone? Yes, but only on Android. Use a file manager to move them from the Screenshots folder to any other folder. Google Photos will then treat them as regular photos, and they will no longer appear in the “Screenshots” search results.

How do I stop Google Photos from backing up screenshots? On Android, go to Photos settings > Backup & sync > Back up device folders and toggle off the “Screenshots” folder. On iPhone, screenshots are saved to the Camera Roll, so you’d need to disable backup entirely or move them to a non-backed-up album.

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