Google Photos Celebrates 10 Years with New AI-Powered Features and Big Upgrades
As another Google product hits its 10th birthday, the tech giant is marking the milestone by rolling out a fresh set of features for Google Photos , along with some impressive usage stats.
In a recent blog post, Google revealed that users have now stored over 9 trillion photos and videos on the platform. The app sees massive engagement every month, with more than 1.5 billion active users performing over 370 million searches , editing 210 million images , and sharing 440 million memories .
A Fresh Look with Smarter Editing
One of the major updates is a redesigned photo editor , now powered by AI to make editing easier and more intuitive. The new interface brings all your tools into one place, including updated versions of features like Reimagine and Auto Frame , alongside classic adjustments like brightness and contrast.
The revamped editor also offers smart suggestions that apply multiple effects at once, helping you enhance your photos in just a tap. Users will even be able to select specific areas of an image to receive tailored editing recommendations.
This update will begin rolling out to Android users globally next month , followed by an iOS release later this year .
Easier Sharing with QR Codes
Another new feature making its way to the app is QR code-based album sharing . Now, users can generate a QR code for any shared album — allowing others to scan and instantly view or contribute to the collection. This builds on existing sharing options, where users can already share albums via link with unlimited media.
A Quick Trip Down Memory Lane
Launched as a standalone app in 2015, Google Photos quickly became the go-to photo manager for Android users. It was originally spun off from the photo-sharing feature of Google+ , which shut down the same year.
From day one, the app was available across Android, iOS, and web , and took a cloud-first approach to help users free up device storage. Photos and videos were automatically backed up and synced, making them accessible from any of the user’s devices.
