P: (android): Choose which folders to Auto Add new photos

Report · Oct 26, 2017

When using the Auto Add new photos feature now Lightroom Mobile searches in every folder in the device. I'd like to choose which folder to look for. I don't want Lightroom sync WhatsApp images.

Report · Apr 19, 2018

Yes please! I currently only have it set to sync DNGs, but have to manually import another folder of JPGs that I'd like kept on Lr. But I want to exclude downloads, WhatsApp images, etc.

Report · Apr 20, 2018

When I turn on auto add function on Lightroom CC mobile in order to automatically upload photos taken with mobile, it also uploads junk from everywhere else, especially images received by WhatsApp. So I would like to enable auto add function only for Camera Roll.

Report · Jun 12, 2018

Yes please.... This is a major pain and privacy issue.... I don't want to auto import not so save pictures. Allow us to choose which folders auto import.

This really messes up trying to move to Lightroom cc where I save everything In the cloud... I don't want to save the junk pics in folders I don't care about.

Report · Jul 12, 2018

Is this fixed already?

Report · Aug 27, 2018

Any progress here? I am getting my Lightroom flooded by icons and thumbnails from 3rd party apps. It's ridiculous. This problem was reported 10 months ago!

Report · Sep 27, 2018

Can't it just watch my camera folder? I don't want it grabbing screenshots, etc.

Report · Oct 01, 2018

So much this. My LR app is taking up 600 - 800 MB on my phone even with storing data on the SD card. A lot of that could be reduced if it wouldn't add screenshots and WhatsApp images and other chat programs.

As others have said, it also clutters up my actual Lightroom library.

Report · Oct 04, 2018

It is extreme shame it is still not even under consideration after all those months.

Report · Oct 14, 2018

Not yet, I hope someone see's this soon from adobe and addresses it. Almost every other photo app I use has this feature.

This is one of the major reasons I am not ALL in on using adobe as my cloud solution for pictures

Report · Oct 14, 2018

Not yet, right now it will grab ALL images from all locations of the phone

Report · Oct 14, 2018

Agreed, this is frustrating to a lot of us. We need more people from the community commenting on this thread

Report · Dec 02, 2018

I don't understand how this still isn't supported. I just went to import photos on my Android and Lightroom wanted to add photos from my messenger apps, podcasts, and pics edited locally on the device. Rediculous. I just want it to import the photos and videos in the folders my Camera uses!

Report · Dec 02, 2018

Every time you receive a picture in any messenger, take a screenshot or anything, you have to launch Lightroom, wait for them to import and sync and then delete them. It may sound super ridiculous but it is actually much easier and faster then waiting for Adobe to fix this already. After a year of ignoring this issue you get used to it.

Report · Jan 11, 2019

It even syncs pics from ".nomedia" folders and private mode folders (Samsung).
So please consider to add folder selection support or at least to look at .nomedia files for ignoring sync.

Report · Apr 12, 2019

Just started to use Lightroom and it really baffles me, that this is something not sorted out already. You should be able to only synch your camera folder.

All the junk from Whatsapp etc. will get uploaded to your online storage...

Report · Jun 14, 2019

Also just started using Lightroom and can't believe you can't pick which folders are uploaded. Not impressed this has been an outstanding issue for so long either.

Looking at alternatives

Report · Nov 24, 2019

@adobe, If you want to take professionals seriously, among the top concerns must be the ability to organize and customize workflow. At the very top of my list of processes is to have a specific location for my professional work and to keep it separate from my personal work.
The inability to target a specific folder on my phone from which I want Lightroom to pull images seems almost like an oversight and borderline a privacy concern. To the point I've considered an entirely separate device just to avoid this issue. The more I move to a mobile work environment, the more I need my mobile devices to afford me the control over content and distribution. If you want me to use your platform (And I want to real bad) I need to be able to control my content. Which means making it less than a headache to import the pictures I want to edit.
Bonus points, if you someday can interface with my cameras to automatically import my RAW photos when I turn off my camera and then automatically add them to a mobile lightroom album, it will be the best thing to happen to my photography in a decade.

Report · Jan 22, 2020

This is for me also a first thing which came in question when taking the Lightroom Mobile app into use. This is really a must feature since all apps (Instagram, Whatsapp etc.) nowadays save tons of photos to your phone. It's very bad usability if you cannot specify folders which you would like to import. Also, I would like to import RAW images and jpegs to different folder since the raw ones needs additional touching up before they can be utilized. The RAW folder would then work as a tasklist from where the photos are then exported to the camera roll folder after touching up those.

Very important feature which I really would like to see in the next update! I'm on trial and as said I noticed the miss of this right away after taking the app into use. I'm not sure whether I want to continue after trial if there's not commitment on bringing this feature as soon as possible.

Report · Mar 31, 2020

How can this still be missing if the requests are two years old? 😞

Im tired of removing all unwanted whatsapp images and stuff like this from my lightroom library.
Please add this simple feature now.

Report · Apr 06, 2020

Please allow us to exclude folders on auto-add! It's such a pain in the arse deleting all the crap that comes through whatsapp and messenger. Now more than ever. Google photos has it.

Report · Apr 06, 2020

Limiting the photo import to specific folders would definitely reduce clutter and annoyance. Can you help us out, Adobe?

Report · Jan 02, 2021

I think they've fixed it!

Go to Preferences > Auto Add. Then you can choose device folders. At least since I started using it again in December 2020

Report · Jan 02, 2021

@anthc you are correct ! Last I used it this feature was not there.... Thanks for posting and letting us all know !

Report · Jan 03, 2021

I already stopped using Lightroom. So they came too late with this feature for me.

Report · Jan 03, 2021

I continued waiting and was extremely happy when this was kntroduced. Thank you Adobe, you got a true fan and a power user from here! It's the only picture service I use now.

Also this feature could be improved by introducing still a bit more selective auto-upload where one could have possibility to select different upload locations for different Lightroom albums. But the feature already now works quite well for me. To have your photos backed up and ready for post processing, the only thing what is needed is to start Lightroom mobile every once in a while.

There is a minor bug though: for some reason couple of photos fails to upload and add to lightroom catalog from my phone. Would be nice to know which photos so that I could delete those. Now the upload always finishes with "XX photos added, 3 photos failed to be added". And the number might grow still.