It’s officially spring cleaning season, and Google Photos’ latest updates aim to help with the decluttering.
Rolling out “over the coming weeks,” new features aim to make it easier to sort through albums, import photos and video saved somewhere else, see shared content, and find screenshots.
“The best part of spring cleaning is knowing where everything is and being able to find it just like that,” according to Sophie Kahan, Google Photos product manager. “To make it easier to find what you’re looking for, we’re updating the layout to show a grid (or list) that you can quickly filter by type (albums, shared albums, favorites, on-device folders) and then sort.”
Whether you stumbled upon your grandparents’ wedding album in the attic, or just forgot to upload images from a digital camera, Google Photos should now make saving and organizing them easier. Scroll past the app’s album grid to find a new “import photos” option, which lets users copy pictures from other services; digitize snaps, videos, and film; or move shots from a camera.
More defined sections have been added to the sharing tab—including partner sharing, shared albums, and conversations—making it easier to find, view, and manage photos and videos. The function reaches Android users this week, and is “coming soon” to iOS.
And while most people tend to forget about mobile screenshots (taken intentionally or accidentally), a new shortcut appears at the top of the main photo grid as a reminder. Android users can also keep an eye out for “a carousel of contextual suggestions” to copy text, crop, search using Google Lens, and more when viewing a screen grab.
