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After I take a picture with my phone, I want it to be synced (and/or shared) to the "cloud" shortly thereafter. (Say after a few seconds when I have wifi connection but not necessarily right away when on 3G). Does such an effortless synchronization system exist? Can a Picasa or DropBox account already do this but I haven't taken full advantage of it? Am I missing something?

I can't seem to find an official Picasa app by google. This Picasa/Android question I found seems to tell me it doesn't exist, although it's an old question.

The option to auto-share photos backed up this way would be worth mentioning. Non-picasa solutions are also well worth mentioning.

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7
  • Check out my updated answer about Pixelpipe.
    – Matt
    Commented Dec 15, 2010 at 18:00
  • Nothing new and constructive to add to my PicPush answer, except that recent updates seem to have addressed the occasional duplicate upload I was receiving.
    – Saiboogu
    Commented Dec 15, 2010 at 18:04
  • PicPush does seem like a perfect solution, I just haven't bothered with it because of the cost. Is there any reason you weren't happy with it Gary?
    – Matt
    Commented Dec 15, 2010 at 18:19
  • Good question but no, PicPush was great, however the free trial ended. The DropBox answer by Al caught my attention, spurred me to offer a bounty. I'm glad there are already more options to try (or try again).
    – gary
    Commented Dec 15, 2010 at 18:32
  • haha, it spurred me to look into it again and now I'm going with SugarSync as the best option. I love dropbox and am comfortable with the way it works and I was resistant to change but now that I look at it I may switch completely over to Sugar. My 2 major gripes with DB is that theres not folder autosync in android and the fact that the only option above the fee 2 GB is $10 a month. For $5 a month and if you get 2 people to sign up as a referral you get the same thing with Sugar.
    – Matt
    Commented Dec 15, 2010 at 18:36

12 Answers 12

Reset to default
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If you sign up to Google+ you can do this with the Google+ app now.

There is an Instant Upload option in the app. This syncs any photos (and videos if you set the option) to an Instant Upload album in Picasa.

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2
  • I have been loving this feature. Everything including videos are uploaded. Great painless uploading.
    – thunsaker
    Commented Jul 17, 2011 at 5:21
  • I saw this question get bumped up, and I just new someone added this answer. I used PicPush up until I installed the Google+ app on my phone, now it's uninstalled.
    – Saiboogu
    Commented Jul 18, 2011 at 3:02
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+50

I've used PicPush for this purpose - it worked well. Only issue I had was it occasionally pushing an already backed up picture a second time and some random future date. Not that critical of an issue, just wound up with a few duplicate photos in my Picasa account. It supports many common photo services too.

$5, but if you download just the free portion of the app you get a 20-30 day trial (I forget exactly) to see if it works out for you.

http://www.appbrain.com/search?q=picpush

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  • It seems like this app is just a tad more effortless than PixelPipe. I pointed PicPush to my camera's image folder, told it to upload on the shortest delay (30s after a picture is taken) and pointed it to a Picasa album. Works just like you'd expect. I will probably buy the app when the trial runs out.
    – gary
    Commented Nov 1, 2010 at 20:50
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Here's a possible alternative solution.

If you open the Dropbox app, then press your camera button and take a photo, the photo file is automatically added to your Dropbox folder and immediately synced to the cloud.

I read about it here: http://lifehacker.com/5713518/send-android-photos-straight-to-dropbox

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  • Great find! I will try it and report back. I would be interested to know whether photos can be sent to a specific folder, preferably a shared one. Have you tried that?
    – gary
    Commented Dec 15, 2010 at 16:48
  • 1
    If you navigate to a specific folder before snapping the pic, the file is dropped in that folder.
    – ale
    Commented Dec 15, 2010 at 17:00
  • I couldn't get this to work. Is there some sort of trick to it? Does it have to be the default camera? When I tried it I had Camera 360 set as my default and its the camera that opened from Dropbox.
    – Matt
    Commented Dec 15, 2010 at 18:07
  • It may require the default camera. That's what I was using when I tested it.
    – ale
    Commented Dec 15, 2010 at 19:01
  • It does not work on an HTC Droid Incredible. The lifehacker article states that you open the DropBox folder, then press the camera button so it sounds like it's limited to those phones with a camera button.
    – gary
    Commented Dec 16, 2010 at 17:04
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Update: I've gotten Pixelpipe to work with the Stock Camera App. Now every single picture I take with my Droid's camera is automatically uploaded to Picasa & Dropbox through Pixelpip. You can set it up to upload to any number of services. Here's how to get it set up:

  1. Go into Pixelpipe
  2. Go to Settings
  3. Turn on "Enable auto upload for camera", and "Start uploads at once" (I have also chosen to turn off prompts and warnings)
  4. Go into Add or Edit Pipes and set up which ever service you want to auto upload to.
  5. Go into the settings for that pipe and make sure that the default for new uploads is "Send". (I don't know if this actually has to be chosen, I don't think so, but I haven't tested it. I just checked it off to be safe.)
  6. Take a picture and it will upload to the "Pipes" you set up.

I tried it with Camera360 and it worked once but another time it didn't. Buggy. Don't know why.

Pixelpipe will do that for you plus a whole lot more. Basically you can set it to automatically upload any pic taken with the camera to almost any cloud service there is (including picasa and dropbox). You can also tell it to only use wifi.

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8
  • Sounds exactly like what I want. I will try it out.
    – gary
    Commented Oct 15, 2010 at 10:25
  • This seems like the best answer so far. I'm still not seeing the auto-updating but I will tinker.
    – gary
    Commented Oct 20, 2010 at 2:29
  • I went back and tried it and there's an "auto upload on camera" option but I couldn't get it to do anything. What do you think that option is for? I assumed it did what u wanted but now I'm wondering if its a bug or I'm just misunderestanding the options intent. On another note, I wonder if, used with tasker, if pixelpipe would do what you need.
    – Matt
    Commented Oct 20, 2010 at 5:32
  • Did you ever get it working? What about Saiboogu's suggestion, that one seems promising. On a side note if you don't find anything, Lookout Mobile Security will back up your pics daily to their servers.
    – Matt
    Commented Oct 26, 2010 at 1:17
  • Just seeing these comments now, not sure how I missed them... But no, I haven't tried it aside from manual sync. I will report back. (thanks for caring!)
    – gary
    Commented Oct 26, 2010 at 20:29
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Try SugarSync.

It's a cloud backup service similar to Dropbox. They have a free 5 GB account as well as cheaper monthly plans than DB.

Their Android app can be sycned to auto-upload all photos or sync folders on your SD. I've tried it an it works. I haven't fully tested it but one complaint that I have read is that it doesn't respect deletes on your Android phone so if you have a folder setup to sync and you delete a file from that folder on your SD card, when it syncs, it will download the backed up file back to your SD folder.

Edit: I added my referral link to SugarSync so if you sign up for a free 5 GB account we both get an extra 500 mb of storage, and if you sign up for the $5 a month 30 GB service we both get a free 10 GB! :)

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  • 3
    nice move, giving a referral link :P
    – Louis Rhys
    Commented Dec 16, 2010 at 6:04
  • :D You in need of some extra storage?
    – Matt
    Commented Dec 16, 2010 at 6:09
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I don't know about "auto-share", but Picasa is definitely one of my options on the "Share" menu from the Gallery. Additionally, my Picasa albums have been downloaded to my phone. Picasa Web Albums is one of the options to sync under Settings | Accounts & sync | <current Google account>.

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  • Good info. I'll try Picasa web albums. Ultimately I would like to automate the process of pushing images from phone to Picasa (i.e. snap picture, it goes to a generic, un-sorted Picasa web album.)
    – gary
    Commented Oct 15, 2010 at 1:43
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You can do this via DropBox without having a physical camera button.

First open the DropBox app.

Press Menu

Press New

Press Picture (this should open camera app)

Take picture then press Done.

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  • Not very automated but it works. It also works if you open a DropBox folder (rather than the app) and then follow the rest of your instructions. It would be great if there was a shortcut to New > Picture...
    – gary
    Commented Dec 17, 2010 at 16:57
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Relatively new app I've just heard about: Dropin

Uploads photos & videos automatically to your Dropbox whenever you're online. Wanna download photos and videos from your phone? Forget the USB cable! Use Dropin! Dropin uploads photos and videos automatically to your Dropbox whenever you're online.

  1. Sign-in with your Dropbox credentials or create a Dropbox account first.
  2. Dropin automatically starts uploading your photos and videos into your Dropbox.
  3. Set Dropbox folders and other preferences in Dropin Settings.

Dropin helps you access photos and videos on your phone without connecting to your desktop computer. On your desktop, you will find everything right in your Dropbox folder.

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  • Will install and try out. Unfortunately it's another excuse/reason to increase the DropBox size. ;P
    – gary
    Commented May 31, 2011 at 15:59
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There is a picasa android.

Its called 3D Gallery.

Yea I know it made me rip some hair out. 3D Gallery after running will ask for permission to access your google account then integrates with picasa. There are some other picasa tools available as well.

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1

Checkout the Android app Auto Uploader in the Market. It'll auto upload to facebook flickr or picasa.

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  • This appears to do it by scanning folders. How often does it scan? Does it cause the device to slow down?
    – Matthew Read
    Commented Apr 5, 2011 at 21:06
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On June 2, 2012, PicPlz announced that they would be closing permanently as of July 3, 2012

Try PicPlz. I've been using it lately and it's quite good.

Not only does it give you a number of effects you can apply to your images (like Hipstamatic) and effortlessly posting to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Posterous and Foursquare, but you can also sync to a Dropbox folder. If you use an effect, it'll save the original too.

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1
  • Finally got around to trying it. Great suggestion!
    – gary
    Commented Feb 19, 2011 at 2:07
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I have DLNA and a server for streaming movies, pictures and videos. I use it mostly so the TV (downstairs and in my room) can play some series I want. I'm using Twonky for this. I didn't realize it but when connected to WiFi, it automatically backs up my files (videos, pictures and music) from my Android device to my home server.

I originally installed it to play content on the TV, but I thought that back-up was a really handy feature!

From Twonky.com:

Twonky offers computer and mobile applications, as well as an enhanced media website, to help you easily enjoy personal and online music, photos and videos. Use Twonky to share your favorite media with PCs, TVs, stereos and other devices connected to your network. Twonky products are available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Mobile and the Web.

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