Don’t know if this is the exact place for this, but trying to post everywhere I know to try and possibly fix this.
A week ago I noticed I was getting closer and closer to nearing a high threshold cap on data. So google was recommending me to use the storage saver. Nothing on it says that it would affect google maps/contribution. So I clicked it.
I was with a friend recently and was trying to show him pictures of other spots I’d been to. I thought it odd I didn’t see anything from a recent restaurant on the app itself. I then got a sinking feeling. Everything I’ve done for the past 8 years, gone. My reviews and stats are still there but when I swipe to the left to the end where it would usually show “My photos” when I had selected a place, nothing. The pictures are still in the storage device but there’s no way I could think about trying to re-upload 8 years worth of stuff. Plus it would feel like semi cheating with the points.
I did write down my view numbers down to compare them after a day and they only went up because I had looked at them manually. So they aren’t available to see when one would scroll through pictures about a place.
I’ve been lvl 10 for many years now so points don’t mean much to me and I was mostly trying to aim for 1 Billion views. With this issue now I no longer have that drive, just defeatism. Is there anyway of UN-storage saver? Would my photos even go back up on the contributions?
I tried looking up google help numbers but there doesn’t seem to be anything to call. Just the help/feedback settings. The two numbers I did call were to google and as soon as I asked about Maps, they just said wrong number and hung up on me.
I see that you have uploaded 52.000+ photos to Google Maps. (Which is kind of crazy ). And none of them are visible on Google Maps.
The “space saver” option is related to Google Photos only. And your photos uploaded to Google Maps are separate and safe from what you have added to other services like Google Photos.
So your assumption that changing settings for Google Photos should affect your photos on Google Maps is not correct. That is the good news.
The bad news is that all your photos on Google Maps have been made private. Google does this should your contributions not adhere to the guidelines.
Please let me know if you can see your photos under your contributions while logged into your account in Google Maps.
If yes, then please take 3 screenshots of the 3 first pages of your photos. Maybe I will be able to spot something you can improve.
The next step is likely to use the form called Account investigation for contributions not visible on Google Maps if you believe that some of your contributions have been wrongfully unpublished. Keep in mind, it takes several weeks for the check to be done, and you will not be notified about the result, so I suggest you check the status of your pics once a week or so.
Do you mean like this? First picture was a recent upload and that was when I discovered the missing photos. You can’t see them in the general views when people are looking at spots, but if you looked at the reviews then that’s how I assume those view counts go up.
Picture two is of a spot when I went on a hike, this is the “general viewing” it says there’s only 8 photos and here are just some. Third photo is of the same place with my actual photos, which I took 13 at that location. So that number is off.
It would be very helpful if you would use the tagging tool when replying to someone here on Connect. Type @ followed by the username. Type slowly. Then we get an e-mail notification and you are more likely to get a prompt reply. Just hitting Reply does not ensure we get notified by email.
Screenshots are fine. Thanks. I think you may want to review the photo guidelines with respect to not uploading similar photos. Google uses the term redundant.
Gotcha, obviously never used this google page, thanks for that. What appear to be similar photos? I always try to have a photo of a place specifically just for it. If there’s three businesses in one I might have one picture, but each will go to separate spots. If I accidentally added the same photo twice I make sure to delete it.
Adding the same photo to more than one pin is a violation that can get you suspended. So removing them is a really good idea.
I was thinking of similar photos uploaded to the same pin. Just changing the angle or the zoom a bit is not sufficient. I think I see this in one of your screenshots.
Hmm, I see. There’s more in depth to these photos than I thought. To a degree of course. I can see how photos might be repetitive now like posting two different photos of a store front (like in your article) .
However I don’t feel it’s repetitive if I took two angles from opposite sides of a restaurant. Both are informative to get a read out on a spot. First photo could show bar seating while the other photo would show booth seating. One photo sometimes just can’t cover everything correctly.
But then I could eat my own idea and words by say, taking three photos of a single pin location of a waterfall. One photo could be up top looking down at it, one photo could be at the bottom and one photo could be from far away. It is “same content multiple times” but there has to be a gray area within just this tiny sentence.
The many pictures of the storefront you used in your content help makes sense. Five photos like that isn’t really helpful.
Though I definitely see content errors all the time in places. A trail head at a state park has hundreds of photos and maybe five actually are of the trail head, while the remainder is of the park itself in every other location.
But I digress because I’m pulling away from my original issue heh.
And believe me I appreciate it. It does make sense and glad you have given me insight. I will look at what I upload with a new eye. Though with my current issue I may just not do any more contribution. Just a huge lose that I don’t know if I can put in the same effort again.
I understand, but please appreciate that your notion of them being deleted was not correct - only hidden. You are not the only one experiencing this currently, so I’m very hopeful this will be solved. How quickly I’m more cautious.
I know they aren’t gone gone, but that hiddenness of it makes it feel like it. Can only hope they somehow get restored into it. Always had a good laugh when friends would tell me they’d seen my photos and think, “I know that dog!” Or, " Of course you’ve been here! You’ve been everywhere!"
You have indeed given me a much needed glimmer of hope.
). And none of them are visible on Google Maps.
