Key Takeaways
- Google Photos offers 15GB free storage, automatically backs up photos & videos, and suggests edits.
- Access photos from any device, share items easily, and use advanced search capabilities.
- Includes a locked folder for private photos, creates memories from similar photos, and frequently adds new features.
There are countless photo management apps out there, but Google Photos is the only one that I’ve been using for years on my smartphone. What makes this app so useful, and what can you learn from my years of experience using it? Let’s find out.
Note that Google hasn’t sponsored me to write this article. Everything I’ve shared in this article comes from my own experience.
Generous Amount of Free Storage
The greatest thing about Google Photos is that it gives you a generous 15GB of free storage space. This space is shared across multiple Google services, like Gmail and Google Drive, but you can use it solely for Google Photos if you want.
With this storage, you can store up to 5,000 photos on your account. If you ever run out of space, you can always upgrade the storage limit, which ranges from 100GB to 2TB.
It Backs Up Your Photos and Videos Automatically
Whenever I take a photo or capture a video, I don’t have to worry about uploading it to the cloud manually. Google Photos automatically finds the latest items in my gallery and uploads them to my account. I don’t even know when this is happening (unless I check the notification bar, which displays the upload progress).
If you’re on a limited mobile data plan, the app offers the option to upload items only when you’re on a Wi-Fi connection. This ensures you don’t run out of internet data or incur any large data fees.
With this feature, even if I lose my phone, I know my precious photos and videos are safely stored in the cloud. I can then access those files from any other device whenever I’m ready.
Automatically Free Up Your Phone’s Storage Space
When Photos has backed up my photos and videos, it asks me if I’d like to delete the backed-up items from my phone. This is a really nice feature, as I can declutter my storage space with just a few taps.
If you aren’t sure where that option is, launch Photos on your phone, tap your profile icon, and choose “Free Up Space on This Device.” Then, Select “Free Up [Size],” where Size is the amount of storage you’ll reclaim after removing the backed-up items from your local storage.
Access Your Photos and Videos From Any Device
Google Photos isn’t limited to mobile devices like iPhone, iPad, and Android. You can access this service from any device as long as it has an internet connection. This means you can use your Windows, Mac, Linux, or Chromebook computer to find and view your uploaded items.
On a desktop computer, you simply visit the Google Photos site, sign in to your Google account, and access your photos and videos.
This lets me view my favorite items no matter what device I’m using.
Quickly Share Your Items With Other Users
Photos makes sharing photos and videos easier. You choose the item to share, select “Share,” and choose the people who you want to give access to that specific item.
You also have the option to share entire albums, so you can give people access to several items at once.
It Has Advanced Search Capabilities
If it were another photo management app, I’d spend hours looking for the photo or video I want. With Google Photos, I get access to a powerful search feature that makes finding items in my account much easier than anything else.
For example, I can search photos by face, which only shows me the photos that have that specific face in them. Another feature I often use is location search, which allows me to find all the photos taken at a specific geographic location.
There are many other search features you can use to quickly get to the photo or video you’re looking for.
It’s a Photo Editing App As Well
Google Photos isn’t just a gallery app; it has advanced-level editing tools as well. I often use the various retouch tools available in the app to enhance my photos. For example, if I want to crop a photo, add a specific filter, blur things, or annotate items, I use the Photos app itself to perform those tasks.
You can access the available editing tools by opening a photo and choosing the “Edit” option.
Automatic Photo Editing Suggestions
Photos is so smart that sometimes it automatically finds the editing that can be done to my photos to make them look better. For example, if I have a photo with poor lighting, Photos will offer me to use an editing tool within the app to fix that item.
When the app has a suggestion for a photo, you’ll automatically see it. Then, tap the suggestion, and the fix will be applied.
Not All the Photos Are for Everyone to See
I have certain photos and videos that I’d only like specific people to see. Photos offers a Locked Folder option where I can safely store those photos. These locked photos don’t appear in the main Photos gallery, keeping them only available to you or the people you choose to share them with.
You can set up the feature by opening Photos, selecting “Library,” and choosing “Locked Folder.”
Time Travel With Memories
Photos automatically combines your photos from a trip or an event and turns them into memories. With this feature, you can see all the photos and videos from a specific event within the app. Photos also sends notifications when it has a specific memory to show.
The feature is sure to make you nostalgic, as you get to re-live the experience you once had in the past. However, if you aren’t a big fan of this feature, you can remove memories from Google Photos.
New Features Are Added Frequently
Google continues to add cool new features to the app, even though it is already incredibly feature-rich. Every now and then, you hear of a new feature that has been added to Google Photos to make organizing your photos even easier, or a fun new option gets incorporated.
And those are the reasons I can’t live without Google Photos.