GoKawiilBrady Snyder / Android Authority
Google Pixel phones, for better or worse, are defined by their software. Exclusive features, quarterly Pixel Drops, and seven years of Android OS updates separate Pixels from the competition. Google’s controversial use of custom Tensor chips is supposed to help some of those exclusive AI features run on-device.
And yet, a feature on my Pixel 10 Pro suddenly switched from using on-device processing to using the cloud without warning.
Pixel Screenshots, an app that summarizes and analyzes your screenshots with custom AI models, was originally touted as using the Gemini Nano with Multimodality model. Since all the processing happened on your device, I happily bought in. Everything changed last week when a quiet Pixel Screenshots update offloaded some processing to cloud servers. The app is no longer as fast or private as before, so why would I continue to use it?
Will you use Pixel Screenshots with cloud processing? 39 votes Yes, it's fine 5 % No, it's a privacy risk 59 % Google has my data anyway 8 % What's Pixel Screenshots? 28 %
I trusted Pixel Screenshots, and it changed overnight
Brady Snyder / Android Authority
Pixel Screenshots is exclusive to the Pixel 9 and Pixel 10 series, excluding the budget A-series models. It’s one of the more polarizing Pixel-only apps from Google, as some view it as redundant when Google Photos already filters screenshots. As someone who takes many screenshots and never goes back to them, I found the app to be occasionally useful. It’s great for filtering screenshot categories, extracting links, and setting reminders to revisit specific screenshots.
I didn’t take any issue with Pixel Screenshots running wild with anything I screenshotted. Even when I captured sensitive or confidential information, that wasn’t an issue, because the app’s data never left my device. The on-device Gemini Nano model that powered Pixel Screenshots was a key perk, and even Google recognized it.
In a snippet from a Google Store magazine entry about Pixel Screenshots, following the Pixel 9 launch that is still live, Google advertised the on-device processing aspect of the new app: This Pixel-exclusive app uses Gemini Nano with Multimodality – our latest on-device AI model – to save, organize, and easily recall the information embedded within your screenshots… Oh, and it does this all super fast since Pixel Screenshots runs on device – no internet connection needed. Google was right. While cloud processing is best for intensive and complex tasks, on-device processing is quicker and more private for less demanding workflows. The privacy aspect is crucial, as your screenshots may contain personal information you don’t want leaving your Pixel phone and traveling to a Google server. Imagine my surprise to learn that the Pixel Screenshots app no longer uses on-device processing exclusively after the v1.26.134.11 update.
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