Google is testing out a selection of new Google Photos features that can make it easier to share photos and videos with your partner, tidy up your photo library and make sure you don’t miss important events.
The details come, once again, from app expert AssembleDebug, now publishing their findings on their own blog. This information has been revealed through analyzing the underlying code of the Google Photos app, which can sometimes unearth inactive code snippets and text pertaining to unreleased features, such as those detailed below:
Improvements To Partner Sharing
A new sharing shortcut is being tested that would let you share an album with your partner in a single tap instead of having to navigate your way through the sharing menu to select your partner from a list.
After nominating one of your contacts to be your partner from an initial setup screen, you will be able to share media directly with that person using a new shortcut. According to the report, this feature doesn’t support adding more than one contact to your sharing shortcuts.
Confusingly, the partner shortcut function is entirely different from the Google Photos “Partner Sharing” feature, which enables users to automatically share photos and videos with a partner’s account as they are backed up.
Archive Albums Automatically
Another new feature allows you to have albums automatically moved to the archive (see below) after a period of thirty days. Personally, I’m not sure why users would want this feature, but Google clearly thinks it’s important enough to warrant testing.
What Is The Google Photos Archive?
The Google Photos archive is a place where you can store albums, photos and videos that you don’t want to have show up when scrolling through your library. It will also ensure that they don’t appear in any automatically created movies or animations.
For even greater security, you can move content to the Locked Folder instead, which locks your pictures behind an extra passcode challenge. Both the archive and the locked folder can now be backed up online.
Calendar Integration – Reminders And Events
Also lurking in the code are hints at a new function to create reminders in your Google Calendar directly from Google Photos.
The code reveals the ability to create calendar events with configurable time, title and duration fields as well as a permission request message that reads:
“The Google Photos app needs access to your calendar to let you create calendar events, like setting reminders. On the following screen, change your calendar permissions from Don’t Allow to Allow.”
Again, it’s not clear how Google would use this ability; perhaps there could be integration between the Google Photos “Memories” feature and Google Calendar or, as AssembleDebug postulates, the ability to scan photos for appointments and invitations and automatically convert them into calendar events.
For example, you could take a photo of an appointment letter or party invitation and have Google Calendar automatically send you timely reminders without you having to enter the information manually.
Both auto-archiving and Google Photos reminders are likely to appear as exclusives for paying Google One customers, given that text within the app code reads, “As a Google One member, you can unlock reminders, auto-archive, and more.”
It’s important to remember that these features aren’t currently enabled in the Google Photos app and, as they are just tests, may be subject to significant change—if they ever roll out at all. I certainly hope they do, though. The partner shortcut alone would eliminate a lot of repetitive effort, and who knows what important meetings the reminder function might save you from missing?
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