Google Photos could soon offer much-improved sharing capabilities and easier cloud storage management, according to a new report.
As discovered by long-time software leaker Assemble Debug, and revealed in the video clips below from Android Authority, Google has begun testing a new Sharing Activity page that updates and improves the user experience when sharing photo albums and memories with others. The new page replaces the current Sharing page with a social media-inspired timeline view that details any likes, comments, or newly shared pictures in the order they arrive.
New Google Photos Social Media-Style Sharing Feed
This change would significantly depart from the current Sharing page, which presents a list of ‘conversations,’ one for each person you’ve previously shared images with. The current version operates like a messenger app (but with mostly pictures instead of text), but the proposed new version appears more like a list of notifications you might receive on an app such as Instagram. This doesn’t mean Google Photos is becoming a social media app based on gaining followers and maximizing engagement, but it should help people who are already connected share content more effectively.
At this point, it’s unclear how you could return to the conversation-based view if you want to view all of your interactions with a particular person rather than scrolling through a timeline of interactions from everyone.
New Help For Clearing Out Storage On Google Photos
Also under test is a new storage management tool that updates the current “Review and delete” section of the “Manage storage” page with a handy progress bar.
To help you reduce the amount of Google One storage you’re using, Google Photos will suggest items taking up space that you might want to delete. These are divided into categories such as large photos and videos, blurry photos and screenshots. Next to each category, the total amount of space you could get back is displayed. However, you’ll have to add up all of these values yourself if you want to see the total amount you could recover if you delete everything.
The new tool adds a horizontal progress bar that shows the maximum amount of storage you could recover and your progress toward that goal as you select individual items to delete.
Known for his regular revelations of unreleased software features, Assemble Debug has once again delved into code of the latest Google Photos to reveal features under test that aren’t widely available to users. It’s likely, but not certain, that these features will eventually receive a wider release, perhaps after further changes and refinements. I’ll report on further changes as they appear.
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