New Updates to Your Photo App ✨

Apparently, September is THE month for photo app updates! Google released theirs earlier this month and Apple's IOS 18 came out today!

And while these changes can be frustrating, especially if you feel like you just got the hang of using your photo app, they really are meant to make your life a little bit easier when finding and sharing your favorite photos! 

I would recommend exploring the new layouts, which will quickly show you that these updates are really just surface makeovers. All your familiar features are still available—just moved to new spots! 

Before you say you hate the new layout, which you probably will at first glance, give it a chance! Believe it or not, Apple had a lot of really smart people working on these changes to make their photo app more intuitive for its users!  

I would recommend spending even just 10 minutes a day playing around in the app to familiarize yourself with the new layout. If you're like me, you spend way more time than that scrolling other people's pictures on social media, so why not take some of that time to learn how to access your own pictures instead!

A few things to note about the new layout:  

Photo Stream:
To access your photo stream, swipe DOWN. You can still use the time options (years, months, all) at the bottom of your screen to search, especially for older photos. 

Menu Options
The main menu is no longer sitting at the bottom of your screen. Instead, you will need to swipe UP or tap the "X" at the bottom of the screen to access all of the menu features which are still there, just laid out a little differently. 

Zoom In/Out in Grid View
When looking at your photo stream, put your thumb and pointer finger together in the middle of the screen and pinch in or out to get a larger or smaller view. This allows you to see more photos at a glance or focus on details. While this feature isn't new, the latest update offers more size options than before. 

Contextual Menus
When opening a single photo, the contextual menu now provides quick access to editing tools and sharing options, reducing the number of taps to complete a given task. 

While the layout update in Google Photos is subtle, you will notice "Collections" replaces the "Library" menu option at the bottom of your screen.

Take some time to check out this new menu and you will find many of the same features you are used to and a few new ones too! 

 

"Collections" Menu (top to bottom):  

Favorites
When you open any photo, you can click the star in the top right corner to mark it as a "favorite," which will then be added to this album.

Archive
The Archive category allows you to hide sensitive photos/videos from your photo stream without deleting them. You can do this by opening a photo, clicking the 3 dots in the top right corner and selecting "Move to Archive."

Trash
This is where you will find pictures you recently deleted. They can be recovered here for up to 60 days. 

People & Pets
Search your entire photo database for a specific person or pet and Google Photos will populate every picture you have ever taken of him/her. 

Albums
This is where you can create or access your digital albums, whether you created them or someone shared them with you. 

Documents
If you have scanned documents, they will be found here. 

Places
This will organize pictures into albums by location. This is a great way to find vacation or special occasion photos if you can't remember the exact date! 

Spend some time exploring and figuring out where your favorite photo features have moved, especially because you'll eventually have to figure it out anyway! 

And if you have any questions, please let me know!

All the best,

Melissa