How to Use Amazon Photos: A Complete Guide

Amazon Photos is a cloud storage service that lets you upload your photos and manage them from any device. Exactly how you upload and manage your photos will depend on the device you're using and which settings you have enabled.

If you're wondering how to manually upload photos, automatically sync them to the cloud, and share your photos with others, read the complete guide to Amazon Photos below.

What Is Amazon Photos?

Amazon Photos is a cloud service that lets you upload and manage your photos. This way, your photos don't take up space on your phone or desktop. Amazon Photos is included in all Prime subscriptions with unlimited storage space.

If you don't have Prime, you can get Amazon Photos for free with 5GB of storage. You can access the platform through a browser, on a desktop app, or through your mobile device. Amazon Photos allows you to upload all your pictures to create backups, share photos with others, create albums, and play slideshows.

You can also upload other media, like videos, to Amazon Photos. But depending on the subscription you have, your usage limits will vary. If you access Photos using your Prime membership, you will have 5GB of video storage available.

This is on top of the unlimited photo storage. When you purchase Amazon Photos through Amazon Drive, you have two options: 100GB for $1.99/mo and 1TB for $6.99/mo. Unless you are using Photos for your business or you have a photography hobby, the 100GB plan should be plenty of storage.

What Features Does Amazon Photos Come With?

With Amazon Photos, you can automatically upload the photos you take on your phone to your Photos account. This works similarly to how iCloud works for Apple devices. Once uploaded, you can edit any of your pictures using the tools Amazon provides.

Amazon also has other features to make your photo collection easier to manage. When you upload a photo, Amazon will identify the objects and scenery in the picture, as well as people's faces. You can then use the search feature to look for specific items, people, or places.

Having photos all to yourself can bring back good memories, but sharing them with others lets you expand your experience. Amazon Photos gives you lots of options when it comes to sharing your photos, and that includes creating groups.

The groups you create can consist of family, friends, or co-workers. Whenever you upload a photo to the group, all of the people you added will see it. Groups even double as a social media platform because you can comment on and react to the added content.

Thanks to the Family Vault feature, even if your family members don't have an Amazon Prime account, they can still upload and manage photos. Family Vault allows you to add up to six different family members who will each receive their own Amazon Photos account, and it's all for free.

The last, but very helpful feature from Amazon Photos is the ability to print out your photos and have them shipped directly to your address. This is only available to US customers.

How to Upload Photos to Amazon Photos

There are several ways you can upload pictures to Amazon Photos. You can upload photos through the Amazon Photos app for your mobile device, by syncing them with the cloud, or by uploading them manually.

Upload Photos to Amazon Photos Using Your Browser

As long as you have your photos stored on your computer, you can upload them to Amazon Photos using your web browser. Here's how to do this:

Open Amazon Photos.
Click Add > Upload Photos.
Select your photos.
Click Open.

All of your photos will be uploaded, and you can start organizing them and sharing them with others. You can also upload an entire folder that contains your photos, as well as create albums.

Upload Photos to Amazon Photos Using the iOS App

The Amazon Photos app for iOS and Android both have slightly different methods for uploading your photos. Keep in mind that if you don't see the photo you are trying to upload, it's because it already exists in your Amazon Photos library. Here's how to upload photos to Amazon Photos using your iPhone or iPad:

Open Amazon Photos.
Tap More > Upload Photos and Videos.
Tap Camera Roll.
Choose the photos you want to upload.
Tap Upload in the top-right corner of the screen.

As long as your photos are the correct file type and don't contain any letters or symbols that are not allowed, they will upload without any problem.

Upload Photos to Amazon Photos Using the Android App

Uploading your photos to Amazon Photos is just as simple on an Android device. Follow these steps to get started:

Open Amazon Photos.
Tap and hold your photo until a checkmark appears.
Tap more photos to add them or deselect them.
Select the Upload icon in the top-right corner of your screen.

Turn on Auto-Save on the iOS App

You can manually add photos to your Amazon library whenever you want, but if you'd like to make the process more efficient, you should turn on the Auto-Save feature.

This feature syncs with your phone's photos automatically, saving you from going through the process of uploading them yourself. When Auto-Save is enabled, you can delete the photos from your phone, and the action will be reflected in your account.

Open Amazon Photos.
Tap More > Settings.
Select Uploads.
Toggle Auto-Save on.

If you're worried about Auto-Save using up your mobile data, you can choose to use the feature with Wi-Fi only. You will have to open the app every time you want your photos to save automatically.

Turn on Auto-Save on the Android App

Just like on the iOS app, whenever your photos are synced to your Amazon Photos account, you can manage them from your phone's gallery, and any changes will be reflected in the app.

Open Amazon Photos.
Tap More > Settings.
Tap Auto-Save.
Toggle Auto-Save on for photos, videos, or both.

You have the same options to use mobile data or Wi-Fi when uploading your photos on your Android device.

Get the Most Out of Amazon Photos

If you have a Prime subscription, then you already have unlimited access to Amazon Photos. Everyone gets free access to 5GB of storage, but that can quickly fill up when you're uploading dozens of photos every week. If you aren't sold on Amazon Photos, you might want to compare it to the other big name in the game, Google Photos.