Summary
- Google Photos now offers a flip option in the editing tools, located in the Crop section.
- The mirror feature is currently only available on Android.
- It is also not available on the web.
Google Photos offers an extensive suite of editing tools, including several AI-powered features like Magic Editor, HDR effect, and more. Despite packing such advanced editing tools, Google’s photo backup service lacked a simple option to mirror images. This changed briefly in September 2024, when a flip option appeared for some Photos users, only for Google to pull it quickly. Now, over four months later, Google has officially announced its rollout.
Related
A Google community manager announced the availability of the flip option in a post on Google’s support forums. You will find this option in the Crop section of the Google Photos editor. Strangely, the mirror option is exclusive to the Google Photos Android app, with no word from Google on if or when it will arrive on iPhones. The option is also not available on the web.
Once you mirror a picture, you can save it as a copy, ensuring the original remains untouched. Do note that the flip option is limited to images and is not available for videos. The flip option in Google Photos is likely rolling out as a server-side update. If it does not show up, update to the app’s latest build from the Play Store and check again.
It is surprising that Google took this long to add such a basic editing option to Google Photos. Even then, it is only available on Android and not on other platforms.
While many of you may not have even noticed the absence of a flip option in Google Photos, you can now rest easy knowing that, should the need arise, the feature is finally here to help.
Google Photos is only going to get better
Source: Jules Wang / Android Police
Despite lacking a basic mirror option, Google Photos is among the best cross-platform photo backup services offering powerful editing tools. It stands out for its ease of use and extensive use of AI for features like Photo Unblur and Portrait Light.
Even better, Google has only scratched the surface of AI integration in Photos. For example, Ask Photos, an AI-powered search experience, is only available to Labs users in the US. Our favorite photo backup service is bound to keep improving as Google enhances its AI integration.