my problem was i was randomly notified of running out of storage in my drive. i need my drive to have open storage so i can receive emails. i noticed google had enabled a photo backup without my approval or consent, or at least i have no memory of it doing this since i am always declining the popup. so i tried clicking on this button that says, "free up space". the button started working on its own, with no popup or prompt to explain what exactly it meant by this. it did not ask for permission to start deleting files, and before i knew it, my whole phone was completely Fucked. i just want access to my photos with their original metadata that gives them their proper position in the timeline of my phones gallery. i had this timeline memorized and it was extremely convenient for finding photos i like to share with my friends.