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A new tool called Batch applies local AI processing to help users quickly identify their best images, addressing a gap left by Google Photos. The app works alongside existing photo libraries rather than replacing them, running its analysis on-device instead of in the cloud.
An Android Authority writer describes using Google One's built-in Storage Manager tool to clean up nearly 4GB of old photos, large email attachments, spam, and bin items rather than paying for extra cloud storage. The tool, accessible via Drive, Photos, or the web, sorts clutter into categories like large documents, spam emails, and bin contents to simplify cleanup.
Google Photos has resolved a bug that caused edited photos to disappear from apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Google Messages, and Gemini, even though the images remained visible in the Photos gallery itself. APKMirror founder Artem Russakovskii reported the issue to Google, which confirmed and tested the fix in Google Photos version 7.97.
Google has resolved a Google Photos bug that kept edited images from appearing in the image picker used by other Android apps, such as messaging and social media services. The issue, which surfaced over the summer, mainly affected users who overwrote originals rather than saving edits as separate copies. Reports from APK Mirror's Artem Russakovskii and 9to5Google confirm the fix is now live.
Google Photos' latest update lets users customize the Collections tab by pinning favorite destinations—such as Favorites, Screenshots, and Trash—to the top of the screen. A new Reorder button also allows users to rearrange or hide other collection strips, which get grouped into an 'Other Collections' section.
Google Photos is rolling out a revamped Collections tab that lets users customize which content carousels appear and in what order. A new 'Pinned' section defaults to Favorites, Screenshots, and Trash, followed by carousels for On this device, Albums, People & pets, Wardrobe, Places, and Documents, with an 'Other Collections' grid below. The update is shipping via Google Photos versions 7.97 on Android and 7.98 on iOS.
Google revised its privacy policy effective October 16, 2026 to clarify that Gmail, Drive and Photos content remains excluded from ad personalization by default, but connecting those services to Personal Intelligence—an opt-in feature letting Google's AI search draw on linked apps—can change that. Google says the content itself is never shown to advertisers, and sensitive topics like health remain off-limits, but ads shown through AI Mode can reflect what a user's question and the AI's answer were about.
Google's privacy policy, updated October 16, now qualifies its longstanding promise not to personalize ads based on Gmail, Drive or Photos content. The exception applies to users who opt into Personal Intelligence, letting Gemini and AI Mode pull context from those apps, and Google's support page confirms that resulting summaries and inferences can feed into ad personalization. Google says advertisers still can't access the apps directly, and sensitive categories like health or religion remain excluded from targeting.
A review piece from Android Authority outlines how the author disabled several default Google Photos features—including memory notifications, print promotion alerts, and auto-generated collages—to make the app less intrusive. The adjustments are made through the app's Notifications and Create tab settings.
Google's revised privacy policy states that services like Search and Gemini can access data from other Google products, including Gmail, Drive, and Google Photos, to personalize experiences, which may include ads. The policy gives an example where a Search query could lead to related ads appearing on YouTube, depending on user settings.
Google appears to be testing a rebrand of the Highlight video tool within Google Photos, according to evidence found in a recent app update. The update also reportedly includes fixes addressing minor usability issues users have flagged with the feature.
Apple's new HomeView platform, designed to power smart displays and shared home screens, reportedly only supports photo integration through Apple's own Photos service. Users who store their images in Google Photos or other third-party services cannot access that photo-display feature, which appears to be one of HomeView's most appealing functions.