webpins
How to back up photos kept in your browser
By webpins.net, updated on
When your photos live only in the browser, the backup is the only safety copy there is. This guide shows, with pictures of the site, how to make and restore a backup in webpins.
Why the backup matters
A site's data in the browser can disappear: when the “site data” is cleared, when the device runs out of space, through a fault, when you change computers or, in Safari, after about 7 days without opening the site. Since webpins has no server that keeps photos, nobody keeps a copy for you.
Option 1: a .zip file
- In the menu, open Manage › Backup.
- Click Back up now. The browser downloads a
.zipfile. - Keep the file somewhere else: an external drive, a USB stick or the file service you already use.
The .zip holds the original photos, the albums and the captions; photos in the trash are left out. The limit is about 1 GB at a time, because the file is put together in memory.
Option 2: save to a folder on your computer
In Chrome, Edge and Opera, on a computer, webpins can save the photos to a folder you choose, with a subfolder per album, and keep doing it on its own for every new photo. Open Manage › Folder on your computer, click Choose folder… and give permission for that folder. You can turn it off whenever you like. This option does not exist on phones, nor in Firefox and Safari.
How to restore
- From a .zip: on the Backup page, click Choose backup file… and pick the file.
- From a folder: in Add photos, choose Add a folder… and select the folder the photos were saved to. The albums and captions come back with them.
Restoring only adds: it neither deletes nor duplicates anything already in the gallery. It is also the way to take your photos to another computer or browser.
Reminders
The site tells you when a backup is worth making: when there are 10 photos or more and no backup, 50 new photos since the last one, or 30 days since the last one with something new. The reminder can be put off for 7 days. If the folder on your computer is connected and saving on its own, there is no reminder, since the photos are already being copied.
Password-protected albums are left out of the .zip backup and of the copy in the folder. To keep them, take the password off first. See the guide to the password-protected photo album.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I back up?
Whenever you add a lot of photos, and at least once a month. webpins reminds you itself: when there are 10 or more photos and no backup, 50 new photos since the last one, or 30 days since the last one with something new.
What goes into the .zip backup?
The original photos, the albums and the captions. Photos in the trash and password-protected albums are left out.
How do I move my photos to another computer or phone?
Make a .zip backup on the first device, take the file to the other one (on a USB stick, by cable or through your own cloud) and restore it from the Backup page. Restoring only adds: it never deletes or duplicates anything.
Does clearing my browser history delete the photos?
Clearing only the history does not. Clearing cookies and site data does, because that is where the photos are kept. Make a backup before you clear it.
Sources
- MDN: storage quotas and when the browser deletes a site's data
- WebKit: Safari's 7-day cap on site data
- MDN: showDirectoryPicker(), saving to a folder on your computer
About this guide: written by the maker of webpins.net. Each step was checked on the site itself on the date of the last update, and the pictures are real screenshots of it. What it says about when the browser deletes data follows the documentation from MDN and WebKit (see the sources above). Spotted something out of date? Write to hello@webpins.net.
Make yours now: it takes a minute and saves a headache.
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