Facebook rolls out optional automatic photo uploads from iOS and Android devices

Facebook has added another feature to its mobile apps that borrows from its social network competitors today: automatic photo uploads. The company is calling it “Photo Sync,” and if it sounds familar that’s because the feature has been in limited testing in August. Just like when we first heard about it, Photo Sync works on the iOS and Android app, and will automatically upload every photo you take to a private “Synced From Phone” album, from which you can choose which to share and which to delete. The feature is very similar to Google+‘s instant photo uploads, and users will be limited to 2GB of cloud storage.

Battery life and mobile data usage are clearly concerns with such a feature, but Facebook has thankfully decided to include an option to sync only over Wi-Fi. Even if you do enable syncing over mobile data, images will be uploaded at a smaller size (about 100KB). Additionally, photo sync will turn off when battery levels are low. Lastly, unlike Google+‘s instant uploads on Android, photos will only sync when you open the Facebook app. Photo Sync is already available for iPhone and Android users (there’s no update, Facebook has simply activated a dormant feature), but you’ll need to go into the app settings to enable it.