Why Google Photos 'Use Existing' Only Shows IMGLoader Albums
Understand why Google Photos only lets IMGLoader add to albums the app created itself, and what to do if the album you want is missing.
Tested against the current IMGLoader workflow and provider UI available as of April 1, 2026. Where platform rules or API limits affect results, this guide calls them out explicitly.
This behavior comes from Google Photos, not from a missing refresh button in IMGLoader. Google does not let third-party apps add items to every album in your library. For transfers, IMGLoader can reliably target the albums it created through its own workflow.
So when you choose Use existing, the list is intentionally limited to albums IMGLoader already knows it can write to for the connected account.
What to check first
- Make sure you are connected to the same Google account that created the destination album earlier.
- Confirm the album was originally created through IMGLoader, not manually inside Google Photos.
- Check that the album still exists and was not deleted or renamed into a different workflow you were expecting.
Fastest workaround
If the album you want is not listed, switch to Create new for a fresh transfer target or use No album if you only need the items uploaded into the library.
Why this restriction is useful
Constraining the list to albums IMGLoader can safely target keeps transfers predictable. It avoids presenting destinations that look valid in the UI but would fail when the upload starts.