Google Photos Favorites Disappeared or Not Syncing? What to Check

When Google Photos favorites are missing, first check whether the photographs are missing too. A picture that opens on your phone but cannot be found on the web needs a different fix from one that appears everywhere with its star switched off. Start with one recognizable image, then work through these checks from quickest to slowest. On an iPhone with Apple Photos, or a Samsung phone, favorites can also sync between apps, which is covered further down.

How to find starred photos in Google Photos

Starred photos are your Favorites. In the Google Photos app, open Collections and tap Favorites, or tap Search, type Favorites and pick it from the suggestions, as Google's search help describes. On photos.google.com, choose Favorites in the navigation menu.

If a photo you starred is not there, open the photo itself and look at the star. A filled star with no entry in Favorites points to the account or the backup, which the checks below cover. An empty star means the favorite was removed, either by you or by a sync with another app.

02 · Favorites not syncing: verify the upload

In the phone app, open your profile picture > Photos settings > Backup. On iPhone, the settings entry may read Google Photos settings. Check the backup account and read the current status, such as Backup complete, Backup is off, or Waiting for Wi-Fi.

Then open the actual missing image and inspect its backup status. Use Back up or Back up now if offered, after confirming the destination account. Seeing a photograph in the mobile gallery does not prove that a cloud copy exists.

On Android, screenshots and downloaded images may live outside the camera folder. Under Backup, open Back up device folders and enable only the folders you want uploaded. An overall completed status does not establish that an excluded folder was included.

Google's Troubleshoot photos not backing up guide specifically recommends checking the account and device folders. Upload one missing item first, then look for that exact picture on the website before changing settings for the whole library.

04 · Check Trash before its recovery window closes

Open Collections > Trash in the mobile app. On the website, choose Trash from the navigation. Some regions call it Bin. Select the missing image and choose Restore, then reopen the photograph and check its star.

Google's Restore recently deleted photos & videos page gives one window: photos and videos in Trash are permanently deleted after 30 days. These are retention windows, not a promise that every missing image is recoverable. Emptying Trash or permanently deleting an item can remove the recovery option sooner.

A favorite is not protected from deletion. If you removed the photograph while clearing the library, its Favorites entry disappears with it. After restoration, verify the image appears on the web, then check Favorites again.

Also check the phone's own gallery trash or Apple Photos' Recently Deleted if you deleted a local copy there. These are separate places with their own behavior; a Google Photos restore cannot retrieve an item that exists only in another app's deletion history.

Favorites not syncing with Apple Photos or Samsung Gallery

On an iPhone, Google Photos and Apple Photos share favorites only when Sync favorites is on. Turn it on in the Google Photos app: tap your profile picture, then Google Photos settings → Apps & devices → Apple Photos → Sync favorites. With sync on, a heart in Apple Photos becomes a star in Google Photos and a star becomes a heart. Removals sync too, so unfavoriting a photo on one side removes the favorite on the other, which explains favorites that vanish after a tidy-up in Apple Photos. Turning sync off affects only future photos, according to Google's help on syncing favorites.

On a Samsung phone that uses Gallery Cloud Sync with your Google Account, where that feature is available, the favorite status of synced photos travels as well. Deletions stay in sync there: a photo deleted in Samsung Gallery is removed from Google Photos and your cloud storage, and its favorite goes with it.

06 · Test the star, then improve retrieval

If the photograph is backed up under the same account and the star still disagrees, refresh the website, close and reopen the phone app, and install available app updates. Allow time for the change to arrive. Test one image again instead of un-starring your entire collection.

If it remains inconsistent, send feedback from Google Photos with your device model, app version, backup status, and whether the image itself appears on the web. Those details separate an upload problem from a Favorites display problem.

For screenshots you keep as information, a second retrieval route can help. Save the image yourself to dEssence through its web app or Telegram bot and add a phrase such as “blue cabinet measurements for the hallway.” Later, search by that description instead of remembering when you starred it. This is a separate saved copy, not a Google Photos connection or a way to restore deleted originals.

Frequently asked questions

Why did my Google Photos favorites disappear?

Check these causes in order: you are signed in to a different Google account, the photo never finished backing up, or the photo was deleted and its star went with it. On an iPhone with Sync favorites on, removing a heart in Apple Photos also removes the star in Google Photos.

Does deleting a photo remove it from Favorites?

Yes. A favorite is a mark on the photo, so it disappears with the photo. Restore the photo from Trash while it is still there: deleted photos stay in Trash for 30 days. Then check its star.

Is Google Photos Favorites a backup?

No. Favorites only shows photos you starred. A photo that never finished backing up is not in your Google account, starred or not.