Google Photos is a great way to store and share photos with friends and family. You can use filters and other editing tools to make your photos look great. You can also share your photos on social media for everyone to see. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of Google Photos. ..

1. Create Movies, Photo Collages, and Animations

You can create custom photos and videos with Google Photos by using the Utilities section of the Google Photos app. This section includes a variety of tools that you can use to make your photos and videos more interesting, like a collage or animation. You can also create new movies, animations, and collages to share with your friends.

Google Photos can have soundtracks, and you can control how long each photo appears. When you choose images for a Collage, Google will automatically arrange them into a single image for you. To create an animated gif, choose Animation. ..

2. Search Logically

Search by people, places, objects, and specific dates by typing in the search bar at the top of the desktop site or the bottom of the mobile app.

3. Label People & Pets

In the Explore section of Google Photos, under People & Pets, you can see a row of headshots of people and pets in your photos. Select one that doesn’t have a label, and enter their name. Then you can search for pictures of them by name.

Take a look at all of your selfies and photos from over the years. See how you’ve changed! ..

4. Search by Emoji

Google Photos now includes emoji search, so you can find photos of your friends and family using the icons they use in their messages. ..

5. Add Background Blur

Google just announced that users of its Google One and Pixel services can now use the Portrait Blur feature to intelligently blur the backgrounds of pics of people. This will soon be available for other photos as well. ..

6. Hide Location Information

When you take a photo with your device, you may be able to save location information. To prevent this information from being shared with your photos, go to Photos Settings > Location > Location sources > Camera settings and toggle Save location to the Off position.

7. Download All Your Photos

Google provides a way to download all your photos and emails at once by using Google Takeout. This is a great way to export or download all of your emails.

8. See the Original While You’re Editing

When editing a photo in the app, you can see the original by tapping and holding down the photo, or by clicking and holding the edited image in a browser. ..

9. Add Old Photos with PhotoScan

Google’s PhotoScan app is better than just taking a picture of a photo because it scans the old picture from several angles to reduce glare. This way, you can preserve those old photos for posterity! ..

10. Not Just for Android Phones

Google Photos is now available on the iPhone. Download the Google Photos app from the App Store. ..

11. Cast Your Screen to Your TV

If you are using Google Photos on an Android device, you can share photos with everyone in the room by casting your screen to another device. This is useful if you want to show a photo to someone else who is not nearby or if you want to show a photo on a larger screen. ..

12. Save Space

Google Photos lets you compress your high-quality photos to free up space. ..

In Photos settings, you can choose to back up your photos at their original quality or reduce the quality of the uploaded photos.

13. Share Images and Albums

Google Photos lets you share individual images or whole albums with specific people, or create a link that anyone can use. If you add more pictures to a shared album, people you’ve shared the album with (or who have the link) will be able to see the new photos you add to the album.

Google Photos is adding new sharing options that let you share photos with friends and family using messaging and social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp. ..

14. Create Photo Books

Digital photos are great, but sometimes you just want to hold a physical photo. On the desktop site, select the Print store to assemble your best photos into a photo book. In the app, select the More icon (three dots) and choose Order photo. You can create a photo book, order a photo print, or create a canvas print of the photo. These make great gifts for parents and grandparents! ..

15. Use Locked Folders for Better Security

To move a photo on your device to a locked folder, select the More icon and Move to Locked Folder. Moving an image to a locked folder means that it’ll be hidden from other areas of Google Photos and other apps on your device. The photo won’t be backed up or shared, and it will be deleted if you uninstall Google Photos.

16. Enable Back Up & Sync

The Google Photos mobile app enables you to back up and sync photos and videos when you have internet access. This is great if you don’t have much device storage space, as it will keep your photos and videos safe even if the internet goes out. You can set the app to backup and sync only when you’re connected to wi-fi.

If you don’t have iCloud, or if you’re not an iPhone user, Google’s Back Up & Sync feature is a great way to back up your photos. To use it, open the app and select Photos settings > Back up & sync.