Google Photos Celebrates 10th Anniversary with New Features and Impressive Milestones

10 years on, Google Photos is the one Google service I can't live without

I tried FUTO Keyboard, Gboard and Swiftkey for a month and here's how it went Ten years ago today, at its annual I/O conference, Google had a lot to say about Android. Back in its 2015 keynote, Google detailed Android 6.0 Marshmallow, offline features for the Maps app, Google Pay predecessor (and Google Wallet replacement) Android Pay, updates to its Cardboard VR platform, and more -- a stark difference from this year's keynote address, which was overwhelmingly about AI features average users likely won't touch. The biggest announcement at I/O '15 was for Google Photos, a new cloud storage photo platform and accompanying mobile apps. All these years later, Photos still represents Google at its best -- and it's the Google product I'd keep if I could only choose one. 2015: How it started When Google Photos hit the web a decade ago, the service already had the hallmark features I still appreciate about it today. Ever since it launched, Photos has automatically uploaded photos from your camera roll as you take them, backing up images that span years and devices in a central location. Apple offered similar functionality in iCloud Photos before Google Photos hit the scene, but Google's solution was more feature-rich (and critically, available on Android). Even in 2015, Photos could identify people in images, automatically grouping all your pictures of each person into handy albums. It could also make out some basic non-human elements in photos, allowing you to search your library for images of sunsets, or dogs, or beaches. If your photos had location data attached, you could search by place, too, which allowed for the possibility of complex (for the time) search queries, like "concerts in Chicago." Photos' sharing features -- still one of the service's biggest selling points -- were strong right out of the gate. The app lets you share live, collaborative albums with other Google Photos users, and even has options to automatically add certain photos to those albums. Parents, for example, can share a single album that populates with pictures of their kid taken on either's phone over time, without any manual sharing required. Even without kids, my partner and I use these sharing features all the time. At launch, Google Photos was an unbelievable bargain. Initially, Google offered unlimited free Photos storage for photos and videos uploaded in "high quality" -- 16 MP for stills, 1080p for video. Full-quality uploads typically counted against your Google account storage, but Google allowed for free, full-quality backups uploaded from the first few generations of Pixel phones. 2025: How it's going Google Photos has evolved since those early days, and not entirely for the better. That free storage Google lured in early adopters with is long gone: starting with Pixel 3a, Google stopped offering free full-size uploads for Pixel users. Since June of 2021, all newly uploaded photos count against your Google account storage, regardless of your quality settings or which device you're using. Still, Photos' core functionality -- camera roll backup, seamless sharing, automatic face grouping -- is as compelling as ever, and a few new features have improved the experience over the years. Photos now features a Locked Folder for storing private images out of view of your main timeline, secured with your device lock or Google account password. Google's AI-first approach has improved Photos search, too, with the Gemini-powered Ask Photos. Ask Photos tries to answer questions using your photo library ("what's my license plate number" will surface photos of license plates, for example), but it also lets you describe specific images in detail to call them up. With a Photos library that spans a decade, the ability to search something like "my dog next to a bonfire in the woods sometime between 2018 and 2021" to find that one shot you vaguely remember is a huge usability improvement. For its 10th birthday, Google's announced a couple more new Photos improvements. The app is getting a redesigned photo editor on Android next month, plus the ability to easily share albums using QR codes. The company has also teased that Photos is getting a Material 3 Expressive-flavored overhaul in the near future; I'll certainly be on the lookout for that. Related How I use seasonal albums to make my smart displays better picture frames And how you can, too! Posts I'd switch to Yahoo Search before I ditched Google Photos I've been using Google Photos since the beginning. I've got tens of thousands of photos and dozens of curated albums in Google's ecosystem, spanning the service's decade-long lifespan and beyond -- I've even uploaded old family photos for the sake of keeping all my pics in one place. I use it to share photos with my family and to organize personal photo projects. For me, Photos is the quintessential Google service. I'd sooner buy an iPhone or switch to Yahoo Search than try to migrate my cloud photo library away from Photos. (Ditching Google Search is looking increasingly appealing anyway.) In Google's ongoing Gemini Era, Photos is a reminder of what I used to love so much about the company: an easy-to-understand service with a clear value proposition for regular users, announced with fanfare at the company's annual I/O conference. In the face of Google's habit of canning well-liked products, it feels like a minor miracle that Photos has made it a full decade. Considering the service now hosts more than nine trillion photos and videos, it seems plausible it could stick around another decade or longer. Here's hoping -- at this point, I really don't want to have to migrate all my pictures.

Google Photos Turns 10, Now Hosts Over 9 Trillion Photos and Videos

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Google Photos, a platform that has evolved from a simple storage solution into a powerful tool for organizing, editing, and sharing photos and videos. To celebrate, Google has shared jaw-dropping milestones and announced new features to usher in its next decade. Over the past decade, Google Photos has revolutionized how people capture, store, and relive their memories, with the added benefit of utilizing AI to enhance photo management and editing. With 1.5 billion monthly users and over 9 trillion photos and videos stored, Google Photos remains a cornerstone of many people's digital lives. "10 years ago today, we introduced Google Photos as a home for your photos and videos. Since then, we've added tons of features that make it so much more than that: AI tools help you instantly find that specific photo you're looking for; editing options let you bring your photos to life; and new sharing features make it easier than ever to stay in touch," writes Shimrit Ben-Yair the Vice President of Google Photos & Google One. "Every month, you perform more than 370 million searches, share 440 million memories and edit 210 million photos. With so many memories made over the last decade and as we look towards the future, we'll continue pushing the boundaries of what's possible with AI, unlocking new ways to relive, connect with and share memories." To celebrate this milestone, Google has introduced several exciting new features designed to make preserving, sharing, and enjoying memories not only easier but more intuitive. Here's a look at what's new in Google Photos. One of the standout updates is the completely redesigned Photo Editor, which brings all of Google Photos' powerful editing tools into one place. Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), the new editor provides AI-powered suggestions that offer quick fixes for your photos. Whether users are adjusting brightness or experimenting with creative effects like Reimagine to transform the feel of their pictures and Auto Frame for help with composition and crops, the editor is now more intuitive than ever. Google says these improvements make photo editing accessible to everyone, whether a casual user or a seasoned photographer. The new editor will be available on Android devices next month, with iOS to follow later this year. Google Photos has also made it easier to share albums with the introduction of QR codes. With this feature, users can generate a code for any album, allowing others to scan it and instantly view or add photos to it. This feature is perfect for gatherings, family events, or travel with friends, making it easy to share memories in real time. The ability to print the QR code or share it digitally ensures that anyone nearby can participate, making the sharing experience even more seamless. Along with these new editing and sharing tools, Google Photos continues to add features that help users organize and engage with their photos in creative ways. For example, the Places feature allows people to explore their photos on an interactive map, making it easy to relive trips and revisit locations through their images. The improved search function also helps people find specific photos with greater accuracy, allowing them to search for detailed queries like "me in a sparkly blue dress" or "Alice at the beach." The search function becomes even smarter when people tag people and pets in your photos, making it easier to locate memories without having to guess keywords. To help users relive cherished memories, Google Photos now automatically creates "Best of Month" and "Year-End Recap" memories. These nostalgic summaries are perfect for reflecting on the most memorable moments of the year, and they're easy to share with friends and family. Similarly, creating montages is now simpler than ever with automatic highlight videos. By selecting specific people, pets, or events, users can have Google Photos combine those moments into a short video set to music, ideal for sharing special occasions or just reliving great memories. Google Photos also offers more meaningful ways to stay connected with loved ones with Shared albums that automatically add photos of specific people or pets, with updates flowing directly into the app or even photo frames. This feature is ideal for keeping long-distance friends and family updated on the latest adventures. For those looking to declutter their feed, grid controls enable users to group similar photos or hide unwanted images, such as screenshots and memes, keeping their gallery organized and tidy. Additionally, users can now customize album memories, choosing which photos, people, or dates to see, and even hiding those they don't wish to appear. Lastly, if a user's phone is running low on storage, Google Photos offers a handy tool to help free up space. The "Free Up Space" feature removes items that have already been safely backed up to the cloud, allowing users to make room for new photos and videos while still maintaining access to everything in their Google Photos library. While all Google account holders currently receive 15 GB of free storage across Google Photos, Google Drive, and Gmail, this storage is shared across these services, meaning that any files stored in Google Photos will count toward this 15 GB limit. Photographers and videographers, many of whom are small business owners without a dedicated server, will likely burn through this data quickly. Google offers options to upgrade through Google One or a subscription. However, I have a little tip for you; it's what I do. By subscribing specifically to Google Workspace, users gain access not only to more storage in Photos, but also additional features such as a custom email domain, Google Meet for video conferencing, appointment scheduling for your clients and collaborators, contract management with eSignatures, and more. Google Workspace subscriptions start at $7 per month for 30 GB, $14 for 2 TB, and increase from there. If you already subscribe to services for video conferencing, appointment setting, email server, or any of the other sundry tools photographers and small business owners need to don their many hats, then you might save by just bundling everything into one with a Workspace account. This is not sponsored, but I couldn't write an article on Google Photos without sharing my tip on getting the most out of it with Workspace, just in case it helps anyone feeling a little overwhelmed trying to do it all across multiple platforms like I was. Google Workspace offers professional photographers a powerful suite of tools that seamlessly integrate with Google Photos to streamline workflow, enhance collaboration, and ensure secure storage. Photographers can use Google Drive to organize and back up their images, while Google Photos serves as an intuitive platform for managing and sharing large photo libraries. Via Shared Drives, photographers can collaborate with clients or team members, providing easy access to albums and images, all while maintaining control over permissions and access. The enhanced storage options in Google Workspace enable the safe archiving of high-resolution photos, ensuring that even the most extensive portfolios remain secure and accessible. Additionally, features like Google Meet facilitate virtual consultations or portfolio reviews with clients, and Google Workspace's admin controls offer advanced security features to protect sensitive content, making it a complete solution for photographers who need to manage, edit, and share their work in a professional environment. This makes Google Photos a valuable tool for small teams and individuals to organize and share business-related media, working seamlessly with other Google Workspace apps such as Google Docs, Slides, and Meet. As Google Photos celebrates its 10th anniversary, the platform remains committed to pushing the boundaries of AI to enhance how users interact with their photos and videos. With all these new features and future innovations, it's clear that Google Photos will continue to evolve, offering fresh ways to store, edit, and share your memories. Whether through more powerful editing tools, smarter search features, or innovative sharing options, the future of Google Photos looks bright, ensuring that users can continue to capture and relive life's moments for years to come.