Summary
- Google Photos helps organize your media library by categorizing photos and resurfacing old memories.
- A new ‘Hide clutter’ setting may allow users to hide unwanted memes, GIFs, and screenshots from their library.
- A revamped Memories UI and a dedicated AI features managing menu are also in the works for Google Photos.
Google Photos makes it easy to manage your vast pictures and video library. With some effort on your part, Google’s backup tool can neatly organize your library, categorizing photos based on people, events, functions, and more. Plus, it will occasionally resurface old pictures to make you nostalgic. If, like me, you use Google Photos to back up all media you receive on WhatsApp, Telegram, and other apps, your library is likely cluttered with unwanted memes, GIFs, and screenshots. Google now appears to be working on a way to let you hide such unwanted media content from your library.
Strings found in the latest Google Photos app for Android (v6.79.0.624777117) contain references to a Hide clutter setting. It will purportedly be located under the ‘Personalize your grid’ section.
According to the strings, enabling the option will hide “Backed-up photos like screenshots, GIFs, and memes.” Do note that you can still access the hidden media from the respective album they are a part of.
Google is also working on a revamp of the Memories UI in the Google Photos app. Currently, the Memories tab shows a random collage of your photos from an event for a memory. As spotted by @AssembleDebug for Piunikaweb, the redesigned interface will use a picture from the album as a thumbnail.
At first glance, I am not a fan of the new interface, as it does not do as good a job as the current UI of surfacing pictures from an event to rekindle your memories about it.
Google Photos might get a dedicated settings menu to manage AI features
Lastly, the Preferences menu in Google Photos could soon get a dedicated ‘AI features by Labs’ option to manage all AI-related features. The first option would seemingly be “Help me title.” This feature is already present for Google Photos users in the US and uses artificial intelligence to suggest titles for your memories, but there’s no way to turn it off. However, you can turn off this feature once the new settings roll out.
Google still appears to be testing all the new Photos features mentioned above, so there’s clarity on when they will go live. Whenever it does, though, the ability to hide memes and GIFs would be a boon and help you keep your Photos library clutter-free and organized.
