- Google is updating the Google Photos app this week to bring new controls to sharing albums that will make it easier to add a person or a group of people to a shared album.
- Google is changing the default option for shared albums so that users can share with people via their Google account.
- Google says that sharing in the Google Photos app is up 50% since the coronavirus pandemic began.
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Google Photos is one of the company’s most popular services, and with everyone stuck at home due to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic, people are desperate for ways to connect with their friends and family members. On the Google blog, Google Photos sharing engineer lead Sanjukta Mathur revealed that sharing is up 50% in some regions since the pandemic began, and this week, Google is making it easier to share whole albums.
Late last year, Google added a direct sharing feature to the service which significantly decreased the number of steps required to share a single photo or video with a contact by adding them to a private conversation in the app. Google is now bringing a similar experience to shared albums, as the default option will now be to share with a specific person or group of people via their Google account, making it easier to add people to albums.
Although it was possible to share albums in a similar manner before this update, making it the default option makes sense, especially now that sharing is on the rise. If you decide to invite someone to a shared album this way, they will receive an email and a notification from the Google Photos app. You have the ability to turn link sharing on and off at any time, and you can choose whether or not you want other people to be able to add photos to the album. You can also remove someone from an album, which will remove their photos and videos as well.
“Google Photos helps me share my toddler’s latest adventures and connect with the people I love,” Mathur explained, hyping up how the new controls improve the app. “Whether I share an album via a link or with specific people, these controls make it easy and secure to share personal moments with my loved ones.”
