Thanks to its versatility and unlimited free storage in high quality, Google Photos has emerged as arguably the most popular Photography app in the business. Despite crossing the iconic 1 billion users-landmark, Google is still figuring out ways to improve its product and feels that the obvious next step is to make the app more social.

‘Socially acceptable’ Google Photos

Google Photos is going social, meaning it will now allow you to share your photos directly with an individual or a group, on the fly. Sharing your precious clicks with people was always a pretty straightforward process in the app, but this new private messaging feature takes it to a whole new level. Simply pick a file, choose recipients, and hit send. A chat window will open up with your selected contacts, allowing you to exchange your photos and videos.

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Is it different than Shared albums?

Speaking in terms of the end result, the two services are pretty much the same, both allowing you to share your photos with a handful of users. However, the delivery method has been drastically simplified. The new chat feature connects you to your target audience a lot more swiftly, while the added chat option is also a handy feature to have.

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How is it simplifying the way we share?

From photo backups to sharing, Google Photos has always had a simple way of doing things, and the American tech giant is simply building on the same idea with this release. While Live and Shared albums were great at handling a bunch of similar photos, they felt like overkill for singular images.

By enabling private messaging, Google has programmed the app to run at maximum efficiency, eliminating the need for adding images to a shared album over and over again. So, now, whenever you click a picture worth sharing, you won’t have to switch to an instant messaging service to save yourself from the hassle of album sharing.

Everyday/one-off images, which are not worth creating an album over, can now be easily shared with friends and family. All of the images you exchange are kept under the same chat window (conversation), which makes finding your favorite pictures super easy.

Will it replace current messaging apps?

This question is a little tricky to answer, as we don’t know what exactly Google is planning. But for the time being, Photos will continue being our favorite stock gallery replacement app.

Conventional chat apps, such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or Signal, are way ahead of Photos’ communication standards. So, it doesn’t make sense for Google to go into such a competitive market, especially when they don’t really need to. This new update is only meant for basic communication — likes, comments — in a secure and private environment, and Google, at least right now, would like to keep it that way.

Since coming up with unlimited free storage in 2015, Google Photos has risen steadily to become one of the essential apps on our devices. The new private messaging option isn’t revolutionary by any means, but it does go a long way in making the app more ‘social.’ We’re not sure how much more traction Google would generate from this move, but it’s surely a nice addition to the already spectacular Google Photos app.