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11 reasons why Google Photos will change your life

11 reasons why Google Photos will change your life
Softonic Editorial Team

Softonic Editorial Team

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This week, Google Photos is celebrating its one-year anniversary!

Launched in May 2015, this clever little app – which has now completely replaced the former Google Picasa platform –  has proved to be a popular favorite when it comes to sharing your videos and photos online, and with great reason.

You can download Google Photos here: (iOS | Android)

Here are 11 cool features you didn’t know Google Photos was capable of:

1. Save data and battery

Google Photos backs up all your photos and videos that you have taken using your mobile or tablet. The following feature allows to choose whether you can only do this when connected to a Wi-Fi network, therefore you won’t have to worry about consuming a chunk of your mobile data. Don’t forget that here, we discuss how you can change various app settings that will help limit the amount of mobile data you consume.

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The Android version of the app also gives you the option to choose whether or not you want to synchronize your data when the phone is charging. This is a great option if you’re on a trip and don’t want to drain your battery synching all your photos and videos!

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2. Free up disk space

Although Goolge Photos backs up your photos in the cloud, by default it also backs them up on your device. If you’re short of space, it’s a great idea to configure the app to delete anything that is already stored in the cloud.

To do this, go into Settings and select the option Free up device storage. The app will scan your device to detect how much space you can save by deleting the photos that are already in the cloud. It’s worth noting that if you choose to delete these photos from your phone or tablet, you’ll need to have access to an internet connection in order to view your photos in the future.

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3. Save your old photos

Although Google Photos performs an automatic back up of your photos from your registered devices, it also has the ability to organize the ones you may have scattered around on various others. If you access the Google Photos web platform, you’ll be given the option to upload all the photos that it has detected on your devices.

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Once they are uploaded, it will automatically organize them by the time they were taken, therefore if you’re looking for those lost photos from back in 2007, you may be scrolling a while – but you will find them!

4. Save the photos from all of your apps

Obviously, Google photos by default takes your photos from your camera files, but what if you want to store your photos from other apps, such as WhatsApp, Instagram and MSQRD, etc? Well, you can!

In order to manage what folders are copied onto Google Photos, go to Device folders (see below). You’ll then be presented with the various apps you have on your device, and by touching the cloud icon, you can choose whether or not you want to back up the photos from that specific app.

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5. Select various photos with one touch

Need to select certain photos from an album? It’s easy with Google Photos. Simply touch a photo, and drag your finger across the other photos you wish to select, without lifting your finger off the screen. To deselect them, simply do the reverse!

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The web and desktop versions are similar, however in order to use the drag option, you’ll need to hold down the Shift key at the same time between clicks.

6. Retrieve deleted photos

When you delete a photo on Google Photos, it goes to your recycle bin. You have up to 60 days to think about whether or not you want to delete it for good, or get it back. Regret deleting something? Simply open the bin and select the photos or videos you wish to recover!

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7. Edit your photos!

Although it’ll never be Photoshop, Google Photos does have a pretty good platform that allows you to edit your photos within the app itself. When you have selected a photo that you wish to edit, click on the marker icon. Here you can explore the various ways you can change the brightness, contrasts and even add filters. The web version works exactly the same way.

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8. Share with ease

Want to share those photos of your last trip or birthday party with your friends? It’s easy! Select the photos, videos or albums and tap the Share button. But that’s not all – with Google Photos, you actually have full control over what you share. Explore the options to make sure the right people get to see exactly what you want them to see!

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From the Shared folder, Google makes it easy for you to see exactly what you’ve shared and who can see it!

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For extra security, it also allows you to remove the geotag of the the ones you’ve shared, just in case you don’t want people to see where the photos were taken. To do this, go to Settings > Location > Remove geo location.

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9. Sync everything with Google Drive

Did you know you can also keep a copy of your photos and videos from Google Photos on your Google Drive? To do this, access Google Drive from your browser and go to Settings > General and activate the option “Automatically put your Google Photos into a folder in My Drive.”

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As of this moment, your Drive will have the Google Photos option fixed to the main options for your convenience.

10. Upload videos directly to YouTube

If you have videos stored in Google Photos, it’s easy to upload them on to YouTube. Using the web version of Google Photos, select the option Import your videos from Google Photos. This option is especially useful if you want to upload videos from you phone, or that have been sent to you via message.

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11. Download all of your photos in just one click

Need to quickly download your Google Photos? Well, Google makes it very easy for you. Simply go into Google Takeout, while logged into your Google account. Select Include all photo albums in Google Photos – which will create a compressed file with all of your information.

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Do you ever get worried about what data Google is keeping about you? Here’s how you can find and delete everything Google has on you in 7 easy steps.

Softonic Editorial Team

Softonic Editorial Team

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