A faster way to share photos and videos, and all-new movies

Sharing all the photos from your weekend with friends can be hard: Not everyone uses the same apps, texting can be slow, and email has attachment limits.

Now, with Google Photos, you pick the photos, tap “share” and select the people you want to share with, instead of the apps — and we take care of the rest. If your friends are on Google Photos, they’ll get a notification. If you share via phone number, they’ll get a link to the photos and videos via SMS. And email addresses will get an email with a link from Google Photos. So you can spend less time toggling from app to app to share photos — dealing with failed texts or email attachment limits along the way — and more time enjoying life’s photo-worthy moments.

We’re also upping our game when it comes to automatic creations.

Google Photos has always made movies for you using your recently uploaded photos. Now we’re going further, with new movies that are based on creative concepts — the kinds of movies you might make yourself, if you just had the time. And they’re not only limited to your most recent uploads.

See examples and learn more on the Official Google Blog: https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2016/09/a-faster-way-to-share-photos-and-videos.html

Google Photos is made for the way you actually use photos – today. #PhotosForLife

Because life shouldn’t stop when your phone storage does. Free Up Space with Google Photos and never run out of storage again. #PhotosForLife

One year ago, we introduced Google Photos. And if there’s anything we’ve learned in these short 12 months, it’s that time flies! That’s why creating a home for your memories matters. Google Photos is all about putting the special moments from the past at your fingertips. And in just a year, 200 million of you have stored 13.7 petabytes worth of photos (...and taken 24 billion selfies).

Thanks for a wonderful #YearofPhotos . Here’s to more years of taking selfies making memories!

For more on how to get the most out of Google Photos, check out the Google blog:
https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/google-photos-one-year-200-million.html

Commenting and smart suggestions in shared albums

Shared albums have always been easy to use. Send an album link to anyone, let them add photos, and save photos to your library in a tap.

Now, shared albums are getting smarter and more social.

Starting today, people who join the album can add comments to photos and the album itself. So you can give your friend’s photo of her lunch and your mom’s photos of the cat the response it deserves, without leaving the app.

Plus, to make it easier to add your own photos to a received shared album, you’ll now see smart suggestions for the right photos to add. No more searching for photos from last weekend’s birthday party and picking out the perfect ones – now you can add your best photos from the event in one tap.

These features are rolling out now on Android, iOS, and web.

Make sure you have the latest Google Photos update for Android (v1.20) and iOS (v1.10).

Manual backup and more in Google Photos for Android

Save what you want, when you want with manual backup. Simply select photos, tap the three dot menu, then choose “Back up now”
Search your photos by emoji for less time and more fun

This update (v1.18) is rolling out now in the Play Store: goo.gl/55OnIr

Enhance your Live Photos & sort albums in new ways

Live Photos bring photos to life with sound and motion, but can suffer from the everyday bumps and shakes that happen when you take photos. Plus, they can be hard to share with friends who don’t have an iPhone.

Now, with the latest Google Photos update on iOS, you can make your Live Photos smoother and more shareable in just a tap.

Using advanced stabilization and rendering originally used in the Motion Stills app, Google Photos can freeze the background in your Live Photos or create sweeping cinematic pans, turning your Live Photos into beautiful, captivating moments. Easily save it as a looping video and share it with anyone.

In addition, this update includes the ability to sort photos in albums chronologically or by recently added (fear not – this is also live on web and coming soon to Android). And, based on your feedback, you can now choose a new thumbnail for faces in People.

Learn more about the technology behind Motion Stills stabilization: https://research.googleblog.com/2016/06/motion-stills-create-beautiful-gifs.html

Get the update in the App Store: goo.gl/gjaHPD

Keep your memories safe, no matter what you do to your phone. Automatically back up all your photos and videos for free at high quality with Google Photos. #PhotosForLife  

Play slideshows from an album

You like crowding friends and family around your computer or TV to show them photos of last weekend’s adventure. You don’t like clicking 132 times to show them each photo.

Luckily for you, it’s now possible to play a slideshow from any album. Just open the album, click on a photo, and select Slideshow from the dropdown menu.

For the ultimate viewing experience, cast the Chrome tab to your TV while you sit back, relax, and make everyone jealous with your amazing photos.

Slideshows are available now on photos.google.com and in the Android app.

Web update: Easily adjust the date & time of multiple photos

You took a bunch of great photos with your camera. But when you uploaded them to Google Photos, you realized you forgot to correct the time zone after your last trip. So now you’re stuck with a disorganized photo library, and the thought of changing each time stamp individually makes your head hurt.

Thankfully, adjusting the time or date for a range of photos is now fast, easy, and intuitive.

On photos.google.com, just select the group of photos you’d like to adjust and click “Edit date & time” in the menu dropdown. You’ll be able to shift or set the time stamps, and preview the changes before saving.

In addition, you can now delete photos directly from an album – just select photos and click “Move to trash” in the menu dropdown.

These updates are rolling out now on photos.google.com.

New redesigned search experience, customizable movies, and more

Rolling out now, the latest Google Photos update helps you find your photos faster with a new search bar. Start searching in one tap, or scroll down after tapping on the search bar to see faces, places, and photo types from your library.

In addition, Google Photos now offers the ability to customize automatically created movies with your own music, photos, and videos, so it’s easier than ever to make the perfect video after a holiday or trip. It’s also perfect for Mother’s Day – which you knew was coming up on May 8, right?

Finally, it’s now possible to rename or delete device folders you’ve created and manage your photos on SD cards by adding a new folder, copying, and moving photos.

These changes make Google Photos faster and easier to use than ever, and will be coming soon to iOS.

Get the latest Google Photos update for Android (v1.19) in the Play Store: goo.gl/55OnIr

New updates for a faster web experience

We’ve made some improvements to photos.google.com to make your photo management marathons easier and faster.

Upload to albums
Save time by uploading photos from your computer directly into an album. Yes, even in shared albums.

New keyboard shortcuts
Use keyboard shortcuts to quickly edit, enhance, delete, download, search, and more. Press Shift + ? to see them all.

These updates are available now on photos.google.com.