Make Google Photos believe your phone is a Google Pixel — and unlock Pixel-only perks like free unlimited Original-quality backup on any rooted Android device.
Forked from BaltiApps/Pixelify-Google-Photos (EOL since 2024) and rebuilt on a modern stack.
Google Photos checks two things to decide whether you're on a Pixel:
- the device fingerprint (
Build.MANUFACTURER,MODEL,BRAND,FINGERPRINT) - a list of
hasSystemFeature("PIXEL_<year>_EXPERIENCE")flags
PixelMask intercepts both — but only inside the Photos process, nothing else on your phone is affected — and replies with the answers a Pixel of your choosing would give. Photos then turns on the perks tied to that Pixel.
- Rooted Android 8.0 or newer (
arm64-v8a) - An Xposed framework — LSPosed on Magisk, or zygisk-vector + LSPosed on KernelSU / APatch
- Google Photos installed
- Download the latest
PixelMask-x.y.z.apkfrom Releases. - Install the APK like any other.
- Open LSPosed Manager → enable PixelMask.
- Scope it to Google Photos and to PixelMask itself. Both. Without scoping the module to itself, the home screen sticks on Module Not Active even when the hook is working.
- Force-stop Google Photos (the next section walks you through it from inside the app).
- Open PixelMask → switch to the Settings tab.
- Tap Target Device and pick the Pixel you want Photos to think you're on (see Which Pixel should I pick? below).
- Tap Stop Google Photos in Settings — that opens Android's app-info page for Photos. Tap Force stop. (We can't force-stop another app from inside PixelMask; only the system can.)
- Tap Open Google Photos and let it start fresh.
That's it. The next time Photos starts, it sees the Pixel you picked.
Photos doesn't pop up a "you're a Pixel now" banner, so this is the bit that trips people up the most. Open Photos → tap your Google account icon (top-right) → Photos settings → Backup. If the spoof is working, you'll see this line:
This Pixel can back up unlimited photos & videos at no charge.
If that line isn't there, the hook didn't fire. Common causes: forgot to
force-stop Photos after changing the target Pixel; forgot to scope the module
to itself in LSPosed; another module (tricky_store, shamiko,
hidemyapplist, …) is hiding LSPosed from Photos.
| Target | What you get |
|---|---|
| Pixel (default) | Lifetime unlimited Original-quality backup. The original 2016 Pixel is the only model whose perk Google never rolled back. |
| Pixel 2 – Pixel 5 | Unlimited Storage Saver (compressed) backup. Useful if you want lots of backup but don't need full resolution. |
| Pixel 6 / 7 (Pro) | No notable Photos perk — Google ended the storage benefit for these generations. Pick one only if you're chasing a specific feature gate. |
| Pixel 8 Pro | Video Boost, Night Sight Video. |
| Pixel 9 Pro XL | Add Me, Reimagine, unlimited Magic Editor. |
| Pixel 10 Pro XL | Latest Pixel-first AI features. |
If you came here for free unlimited storage, the original Pixel is what you want. The defaults are already set to it.
The Home tab has two report buttons that pre-fill a GitHub issue with everything we need (your real device, Android version, the Pixel you spoofed as, module version):
- Report — Working — tells us a new device combo works, helps build the compatibility matrix.
- Report — Not Working — opens a Not-Working template; please attach the LSPosed module log if you can grab it from LSPosed Manager → Modules → PixelMask → Module logs.
The Home tab's update card hits update_info.json on this repo and points at
the latest release if there is one newer than what you have. Tap the card to
download. Re-installing the APK on top is enough — your settings are kept.
Build instructions, hook architecture, the asset/banner pipeline, and the release process all live in docs/INTERNALS.md.
- Forked from BaltiApps/Pixelify-Google-Photos. Thank you for the original work.
- Launcher icon adapted from Now in Android
by The Android Open Source Project (Apache-2.0). The Bugdroid silhouette
path is unchanged; the original
{}mark above it was replaced with a 4-blade pinwheel.
MIT — see LICENSE.
For research and educational use. No warranty. You are responsible for any use of the module, including data loss or legal consequences in your jurisdiction.