Finally! Uploading PS5 screenshots is no longer a pain

Dualsense controller. Spider-Man: Miles Morales is PS5's biggest launch game. Man holding joystick
(Image credit: Girts Ragelis | Shutterstock)

While the PS5 is an excellent gaming system overall, its UI could still use some work. Take the process of uploading screenshots, for example. Unlike the Xbox Series X, which automatically uploads screenshots to an online folder, the PS5 requires a manual transfer via USB, or a cumbersome workaround that requires joining a party before uploading anything. That’s all set to change soon, thanks to a new uploading tool that lets you automatically upload your screenshots right to the PlayStation app on your phone.

Information comes from a small Twitter account, Gaming-Interactive-Photos. The account’s proprietor noticed a new option while attempting to upload screenshots on PS5 and shared their findings with the rest of social media.

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"Automatically upload your latest screenshots and video clips, and view them on the PlayStation app," the notification advertises. "They’ll be available on your PlayStation app for 14 days after you create them." It also gives the option for players to enable auto-uploads; if they don’t, they can change the setting from the Captures and Broadcasts menu later.

If you haven’t had to get PS5 screenshots off your console before, it’s impossible to overstate just how simpler this makes things. While there’s still no direct way to get screenshots from a PS5 to a computer, downloading them all from the PlayStation app on Android or iOS is significantly easier than having to form a party and share the screenshots indirectly. The fact that photos automatically upload also saves you the trouble of having to pick and choose which ones you want.

The downside is that you may not be able to activate this feature just yet. Earlier this morning, Twitter users assumed that the update was rolling out to users slowly, as very few people actually had the opportunity to try it. Gaming-Interactive-Photos, however, shared an update that Sony may have jumped the gun. Apparently, the functionality is no longer available on its PlayStation app.

Still, it’s good to know that Sony is working on this feature, and that it’s apparently almost ready to launch. Even if it accidentally showed up a few days (or weeks) early, it seems almost ready to implement. Once it goes live, it will make uploading screenshots much easier for anyone who has a smartphone. The next step, of course, is to create a "PS5 to computer" pipeline, but we’ll focus on one thing at a time. It’s at least more straightforward than uploading screenshots from the Nintendo Switch.

Marshall Honorof

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. After hours, you can find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.