Google Photos Tricks 2020

So how many photos have you captured this vacation on your newly purchased Oneplus 7 Pro? Not difficult to guess, perhaps a few hundred? Or even more if you’re too much into selfies or a Snapchat story kind of a person.

Snapping a photo today is as easy as it can be, but organizing them can be a tough ask at times. No matter whether you use a Oneplus 7 Pro, Google Pixel 3XL, Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus, RealmeX, Galaxy S10, or literally any other high-end smartphone, keeping up with organizing the flow of new photos can prove to be a real pain. Worry not, we’ll discuss some secret life-transforming features about Google Photos that you have most likely never heard of.

Tip # 1: Make Google Photos Your Primary Storage for Gallery & Camera Rolls

Most people who use Google Photos do not use it as a primary form of storage and only use it to back up their photos & videos. We’re here to tell you if you hate that dreaded pop-up that says you’re running out of storage space, why not set Google Photos as your primary means of storage?

Just like you store contacts on Google Contacts, documents, presentations (and so much more) on Google Drive, why not set Google Photos as the default storage mode for photos and videos? This can free up a tremendous amount of storage space and make your phone’s internal storage and SD memory card free for apps and other files.

Galaxy S9

1. Tap Settings from the App Drawer.
2. Tap the three dots on the upper right corner of the screen.
3. Go to Standard Apps | Select As Default.
4. Remove defaults for any image and video files listed on the subsequent screen.
5. Exit out of the screen, and open an image file as you do so normally.
6. You’ll be prompted to select the default app.
7. Tap Google Photos.

Note: The above steps might vary depending on the smartphone you use. For more information, refer to the manual or manufacturer’s website.

Tip # 2: Google Doesn’t Want to Eat-Up Your Cellular Data

Google doesn’t want to force its users to consume their cellular data for backing-up large photos and videos. Thanks to the flexibility offered by the search-giant, you can configure Google Photos to automatically backup media only when you’re connected to the Wi-Fi.

1. Tap the Menu icon.
2. Now tap Settings from the left-side navigation options and then select Back up & Sync.
3. Look for the Cellular data backup options.
4. Move the Photos and Videos toggle buttons to the left. This will prevent your photos and videos from being automatically backed up whenever you’re using your cellular data.

Tip # 3: Search Faster by Getting Human Faces in Photos Search

Make the most out of Google Photos by grouping people and pets by their faces. Name the person in a photo once and easily share your photos with the user in the photograph with a single tap!

Enable Face Grouping

In most cases, this feature is enabled by default. If you are unable to see faces in the search, follow the steps given below:

1. Tap Menu, and then Settings.
2. Look for the Face Grouping option, and set the toggle button to on.

To label a person/ pet

1. Tap the Search box on the top.
2. You’ll now be seeing the faces of your friends and family in the Search Results.
3. Tap a face to name it and now tap on the Who is this? link underneath.
4. Type the name of the individual, or tap the Show results from contacts option and select their contact from the contacts list.

Note: Google will NEVER inform other users about the labels/ names you add.

Tip # 4: Use AI to Search for Text Inside Images, Traits & Objects

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought a massive revolution in the world of technology, computers, and smartphones.

Get the best user experience by searching for photos by unique traits and objects surrounding you. Use keywords such as food, festivals, pets, outdoor games, office or gym to get customized results.

Google’s Optical Character Recognition technology now allows you to even search the photos by the text they contain!

Tip # 5: Pull Up Your Vacation Photographs by Their Location

Gone are the days of digging through hundreds of photos just to find a handful of photos. If you’re one of those avid travelers who visit different places throughout the world, this feature can turn out to be a great help. Simply set Google Photos to access your GPS Location to keep your photos organized by their location.

Allow GPS Connectivity to Google Photos

This is how you can easily turn this feature on, and use GPS connectivity to organize photos.

1. Tap the Assistant icon on the bottom left.
2. Scroll down a bit and look out for Google Location Settings.
3. Tap on Add location to your Photos.
4. Set the Location History switch to On.
5. Tap OK in the subsequent confirmation prompt.
6. Every new photo of yours that you capture from now onwards will see the location added to it. For older photos, you would have an option to set the location manually.

Manually Set Location to Old Photo Albums

When it comes to manually add up the location of photos captured when you hadn’t turned the GPS Location on, the procedure is very easy.

1. Open a photo album.
2. Tap Edit Album | Location.
3. Select your desired location.

That’s it, folks. You should now be able to search for photographs by their locations, such as Paris, New York etc.

Raza Ali Kazmi

Raza Ali Kazmi works as an editor and technology content writer at Sorcim Technologies (Pvt) Ltd. He loves to pen down articles on a wide array of technology related topics and has also been diligently testing software solutions on Windows & Mac platforms.