Do you find it hard to locate specific photos on your phone? The average person has around 2,000 pictures stored on their phone alone and many more on Google Photos (I have more than 8,000). With such large collections, finding one snapshot can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack.
With the latest update to Google Photos, Google aims to make finding photos easier with natural language search that lets you provide context. Instead of searching for a keyword, like "sunset," you can use ideas and phrases, such as "sunset at soccer field" (see below). You can also use people and pets you've already identified in photos (you'll see them in "People and Pets" when you open the "Collections" tab). For example, I could search for "Josh fishing" to find pictures of my husband from the fishing trip we took in Maine. Once you have your search results, you can sort them by "most recent" or "best match."
After testing the new natural language search, I had mixed results. The app had no trouble finding the sunset at my son's soccer field. However, when I asked for pictures of my son's graduation, it returned photos of my daughter's graduation (though my son was in attendance). I'm impressed it could recognize a graduation ceremony, but it isn't yet smart enough to make the connection to the person wearing the cap and gown.
Read more: How to Extend the Life of Your Phone
Additionally, the precise phrasing can impact your results. For instance, I was looking for a picture of "Hudson and Cashew nose to nose" (our two sweet furbabies that I have tagged in Photos), Google returned a blank. However, a simpler search for "Hudson and Cashew" brought up results of the two of them together – significantly reducing the number of photos I had to sift through to find that nose-to-nose shot.
The new search feature for Google Photos is rolling out now to Android and iOS users, and it's already available for Google Photos on the web. If you don't see the feature on your phone, install the update to the Google Photos app.
Read more: How to Use Your Phone's Camera to Search
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For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.
