Google has announced a new feature update to the Google Photos on Android, iOS, and web. The new feature is nothing but a private messaging functionality that users can choose to use to share pictures and videos to others without going through the pain of creating a shared album.

What is the new chat feature

The new chat feature prevents the need for creating albums to share pictures. With this update, two or more users with an active Google account will be able to send a message containing a photo or a video, just like you would on any other social platform like Instagram, or WhatsApp.

Users can share photos and videos with anyone, provided they have a Google Account and have the contact’s name, email address or phone number. New chats can be created by opening a picture inside the library and tapping the share button.

How is the new chat feature different from shared albums?

Google previously allowed users to share pictures and videos with each other by creating shared albums. Shared albums would allow participants to upload and download media that is being shared. However, sending a photo meant first creating an album with pre-selected participants which was lackluster by a long shot.

The new feature has been designed to overcome just that, thus taking a straightforward approach to sharing media with others. You can choose to open a new thread by simply sharing one picture to another user with a Google account and that’s it.

Why should you use Google Photos chat feature

  • Share photos and videos super quickly from within the Photos app
  • Share photos and videos without depending on third-party or other social media platforms
  • Create a thread that has the history of all photos and videos (and texts) with the person or group
  • Share with anyone having a Google account, phone number, or email address.
  • Easy group chat and sharing of photos and videos
  • Any participant in a group can share photos and videos
  • Like and comment on a post like on social media
  • Download photos and videos from a thread at any given time
  • Works on Android, iOS, and web

Will you use the new private messaging feature on Google Photos? Let us know in the comments below.

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