Google Photos has no single Select All button. That is the honest answer, and it is why this task frustrates so many people: you open your library expecting a checkbox that grabs everything, and it simply is not there. The good news is there is a fast, reliable way to select thousands of photos at once, and it takes about five seconds once you know the trick. This guide covers the quickest method on the web, Android, and iPhone, the mistakes that waste the most time, and what to do with your photos once they are all selected.
The quick answer: the shift-click trick
On the Google Photos website, the fastest way to select all is:
- Hover over the very first photo at the top of your library and click the grey circle in its corner to select it.
- Scroll to the bottom of the range you want (or the very end of your library).
- Hold the Shift key and click the circle on the last photo.
Everything between the first and last photo is selected instantly, including all the days and months in between. This works for a single day, a whole year, or your entire library. There is no need to drag or click each photo one at a time.
How to select all in Google Photos on the web (desktop)
The desktop browser at photos.google.com gives you the most control, so this is the best place to select large numbers of images.
Select an entire day
Each day in Google Photos has a small circle next to its date heading. Click that circle and every photo taken that day is selected at once. This is the cleanest way to grab a specific date without touching individual images.
Select your whole library
Use the shift-click trick above: select the first photo, scroll to the oldest photo, then Shift-click it. For very large libraries this means a long scroll, because Google Photos loads images as you move down the page. Let each section finish loading before you keep scrolling, or the selection can stop short.
Use keyboard shortcuts
After you click the first photo, you can hold Shift and use the arrow keys to extend the selection cell by cell. It is slower than shift-clicking the last photo, but it is precise when you only want a specific block.
How to select multiple photos on Android
In the Google Photos app on Android:
- Press and hold the first photo until a checkmark appears.
- Without lifting your finger, drag across the other photos you want. Dragging selects them in a continuous sweep.
- To grab a whole day, tap the date heading to select every photo under it.
There is no true one-tap select-all in the mobile app either, so for very large exports the desktop web version or Google Takeout (covered below) is usually faster.
How to select multiple photos on iPhone and iPad
On iOS the Google Photos app works much like Android:
- Long-press the first image until it is checked.
- Slide your finger across the images you want to add them to the selection.
- Tap a date heading to select an entire day in one tap.
If you are trying to move photos out of Google Photos and into your iPhone gallery, select the images, tap the share or download icon, and save them to your device. For your whole library, Takeout is the better route.
Selection methods at a glance
| Device | Fastest method | Best for | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web (desktop) | Shift-click first then last photo | Whole library or large ranges | Long scroll on big libraries |
| Web (desktop) | Click the date heading circle | One specific day | One day at a time |
| Android | Long-press and drag | Dozens of photos | Tiring for thousands |
| iPhone / iPad | Long-press and slide | Dozens of photos | Tiring for thousands |
| Any | Google Takeout | Downloading the entire library | Exports as zip archives, not a live view |
Common mistakes that waste time
- Scrolling too fast. Google Photos loads images lazily. If you shift-click before the middle of the range has loaded, the selection can miss photos. Scroll steadily and let each block appear first.
- Trying to click every photo by hand. If you are clicking one image at a time, you are doing it the slow way. Use the day-heading circle or the shift-click range instead.
- Assuming a browser extension is required. Extensions that promise a select-all button exist, but they are unofficial and can break when Google updates the page. The built-in shift-click method is faster and safer.
- Confusing select-all with download-all. Selecting photos on screen and downloading your full archive are two different jobs. For the entire library, skip manual selection and use Takeout.
What to do after you have selected everything
Most people who want to select all in Google Photos are really trying to do something bigger: download everything, move to another service, or finally get their pictures organized. Once your photos are selected you have two paths.
Download a selection
With photos selected on the web, click the three-dot menu and choose Download. Google packages them into a zip file. This is fine for a few hundred images.
Download your whole library
For everything, use Google Takeout. Choose Google Photos, and Google builds one or more zip archives containing your full-resolution originals plus the metadata. This is the reliable way to get a complete, offline copy.
The part almost no one warns you about is what comes next. A Takeout export lands on your drive as a pile of zip files full of images and separate JSON metadata files, often with confusing names and dates scattered across folders. Selecting all in Google Photos was the easy part; turning that export into a library you can actually browse is the real work.
This is where a local-first photo manager helps. Memora is a desktop app that keeps your photos on your own computer and organizes them there, with no ongoing cloud subscription. It reads your existing folders in place, supports RAW files alongside JPEGs, and uses on-device AI semantic search so you can find pictures by describing what is in them rather than remembering a date or filename. Because processing happens locally, your images never have to be uploaded to a third-party server. If you are leaving Google Photos or just want a proper home for an export, it picks up exactly where the download leaves off. For a wider look at your options, see our guide to Google Photos and iCloud alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a real select-all button in Google Photos?
No. Google has never added a single select-all control. The shift-click range on the web is the closest equivalent and selects your entire library in one action.
How do I download all photos from Google Photos at once?
Use Google Takeout rather than manual selection. It exports your complete library as zip archives with original quality and metadata, which is far more reliable than shift-clicking and downloading thousands of files in the browser.
Can I sort Google Photos by date before selecting?
Google Photos already displays your library in date order, newest first. To select a specific date range, click the circle on the first day's heading, scroll to the last day you want, and shift-click there.
Why does my selection keep stopping partway?
Almost always because the page had not finished loading images when you shift-clicked. Scroll through the range slowly first so every block loads, then select from top to bottom.
Selecting all in Google Photos comes down to one habit: click the first photo, hold Shift, click the last. From there, decide whether you are downloading a handful of images or your whole archive, and give that archive a place to live once it is off Google's servers.