Frequently asked questions

A normal send is identical to the original; a Laundry send is a different file. Google Photos appears to merge identical files and keep different files separately, so sending a video through Laundry after your phone already uploaded it leaves two. This comes from what we have observed; Google does not document it.

If your phone already uploaded that video and you sent it normally, the files are identical. Google Photos merges them and the receiver just shows “backed up.” Send it through Laundry if you want a new copy.

The same can happen when you re-upload an identical file you deleted from Google Photos earlier.

Open the item in Google Photos on the web and check its info panel: it shows which device uploaded it, its size and whether it uses storage. Before deleting, make sure you can see both copies. If there is only one, deleting it removes the video. Deleting a copy that is in an album also removes it from that album.

The original on your iPhone and the Laundry copy from the receiver are different files, so they can appear side by side. Deleting the iPhone original leaves one. Be careful with “Back up now” on the iPhone copy: it uploads the original again.

Normally not, because a regular sync sends the original unchanged. One exception: files with no capture time, such as messenger images, screenshots and web downloads. An Android receiver fills in the time when saving, so the file differs. These can show twice on the iPhone, while the cloud has only the receiver’s copy. Don’t tap “Back up now” on the iPhone copy or turn iPhone backup back on, because it uploads again and can use your storage. Deleting the iPhone original leaves just one.

Files sent normally usually merge. Laundry copies and files with a filled-in capture time do not, so the iPhone original can upload again and use storage. If your receiver handles backup, it is safer to leave iPhone backup off.

Look at the capture date, not the most recent items: old videos go to their old date. If the name already exists, the saved name gets _1. Also check that backup has finished on the receiver and that both devices use the same Google account.

A normal send keeps the file identical, so Google Photos ends up with one. Laundry makes a different file on purpose, for when you want a new copy uploaded. Laundering everything would double the library of anyone with phone backup on.

Picture, sound and capture date stay the same. It becomes a new file with _px added to the name. Each run makes a different file, so laundering the same video again creates another copy. Mac and PC receivers get the original with nothing added.

Up to two. Files go to each in turn, skipping what a device already has. A device that finishes first tells you it is free to use. If one is off, the other keeps going.

The receiver finishes the phone that started first, then takes the next. The waiting phone shows that the receiver is busy and retries on its own.

For files of known size, the receiver keeps what arrived for 48 hours and continues from there. The partial file can use storage in the meantime.

Yes. The original is downloaded through the Photos system first, which needs internet and takes longer. While sending, it prepares the next two ahead of time, only if the iPhone keeps at least 5 GB free.

It continues as long as iOS allows. If iOS stops it, it pauses in place, notifies you and continues while charging or when you reopen the app. For a long first send, keeping the app open on a charger is most reliable.

Speed is what is actually going to the current device. With two devices each original travels twice, so progress moves more slowly. The receiver’s storage speed matters too.

Each original counts once. Sending it to another device or through Laundry does not change the total.

Yes. Pick more in Laundry or Activity and they join the end of the current list. When you reopen Laundry, a filling ring marks what’s sending and numbers show what’s next, so you can see how far you got. In Activity, a device-colored ring that fills means sending, and a dashed one means waiting. Items already going through Laundry can’t be picked again.

By default, a device that already has a file is skipped for that file. A Mac or PC is skipped if it has received the file. A receiver that uploads to Google Photos only counts files it got through Laundry, because a plain copy needs Laundry to make a new one there. To send again on purpose, turn on “Send again even if it’s already there” when picking devices.

A regular sync compares each device and sends only what it’s missing. In Activity, filter to “Sent to only one place,” select all, then choose “Send each where it’s missing” under Send.

The app drops that device for this send and keeps going with the other. Missed files are found and sent on the next sync. Check that the receiver is on and on the same Wi-Fi. If the Mac receiver stops responding, restart the app.

Pause stops right there. Resume continues without rescanning, from where the current file left off. Stop lets you finish this file first or stop now.

Yes. In Sending range, choose today, the last week, the last 1 or 3 months, this year, a date, a specific photo, or everything. Only items taken after that point are sent, and each receiver remembers its own range.

That’s a Pro feature. On iPhone, open Shortcuts → Automation, choose “When charger connects” or a Wi-Fi trigger, then add “PixLaundry sync.” On Android, turn on Automatic sync and it sends while charging on Wi-Fi.

Manual sends of up to 50 files a day, each up to 100 MB. The receiver apps are always free. Pro removes the daily limit, sends big videos, and adds automatic sync and Laundry. Files over the daily limit continue the next day.

It keeps a small compressed copy on your phone and deletes the large original. You can still find the video in your photo app and view the original in your other backup. The system asks to delete only after the copy is ready. Cancel there and the original stays. Quality can’t be restored afterwards.

Choose Best quality, Balanced or Smallest size and see an estimated size for each. Sound and capture date stay, and you can change the default in Settings. Estimates can differ from the result. If a copy doesn’t get smaller, it’s discarded and the original stays.

Yes. Photos that are already small are skipped. iPhone saves HEIC and Android saves JPEG, carrying over file details such as date and location. Live Photos on iPhone are skipped.

Shrink compresses photos and videos on this device to make room. It shows your whole library, largest first. Items never sent can be shrunk if you turn on the option and confirm, but deleting needs a send record. Activity is handy for choosing sent items by receiver.

By default, the edited version you see is shrunk and the unedited original is deleted, so trimmed parts can’t be recovered. On iPhone, you can base it on the unedited original in Settings › Edited videos. Slow-motion and Cinematic videos get a warning first, since the effect can change.

Copies of items you already sent are not sent. Copies of items never sent go out with the next send if they’re within your range. Deleting the app clears this record, so copies could then be sent as new items.

Shrink history on the home screen lists it by date, with the size before and after and the space saved.

It never signs in to Google and cannot check Google Photos. “Sent” means saved on the receiver; the cloud backup is Google Photos’ job. The “cleaned” mark in History is only your own note.

Both sides compute a SHA-256 fingerprint and compare, and a mismatch is re-sent once. If an Android receiver fills in an empty capture time, its file differs by that much, but the fingerprint compares the original as received.

Yes. The sender remembers the receiver’s certificate at pairing and only talks to that device afterwards. Do the first pairing on Wi-Fi you trust. Reinstalling the receiver changes the certificate, so you pair again.

The app cannot check the backup for you. Confirm it yourself on Google Photos on the web or in your Mac folder first. With iCloud Photos on, deleting on the iPhone deletes on all devices using that account. Deleted items stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days.

Yes, with Shrink on iPhone. Pick items in Activity or Shrink on the home screen. It keeps a compressed copy on the same date and deletes the large original. Date, location, favorites and albums stay, but quality drops and the copy can’t go back to the original quality. The original stays in Recently Deleted for 30 days, and with iCloud Photos on the change reaches your other devices too. Check your backup yourself first.

The photos and videos in your sending range were compared with the receiver’s records and none were missing. It’s based on the receiver and doesn’t confirm the upload to Google Photos.

The number of files that have disappeared from the receiver. Google Photos “Free up space” removes only backed-up items, so we assume they were backed up. Files you deleted yourself in a gallery can be counted too.

They let you keep your own record of deleting the old copy in Google Photos after a Laundry send. The app doesn’t check Google Photos. Normal sends don’t appear because they make no new copy there.

Only items with a send record can be deleted. The app can’t check your other backups, so you turn on “I checked my backups myself” first, then the system asks you to confirm. On iPhone with iCloud Photos, items are deleted from iCloud too and stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days.

Your photos, videos and file details never reach us. The iPhone and Android apps send only daily totals: files and bytes sent, whether the free limit was reached, failures, paywall views and similar counts. There’s no account, device ID or advertising ID. See the privacy policy for details.

Use Help & feedback on the home screen to send a diagnostic log through an app you choose. It has file names, sizes, transfer steps and errors, but no photo content, PIN or token. The app never sends it on its own.