How to Organize and Edit Photos With Google’s Gallery Go App
Google Gallery Go is a simple but effective free photo organizer and editor for your Android device that arranges your library based on date and category.
Android offers some built-in options for organizing and editing photos, including Google Photos. But you may find Google’s new Gallery Go app more user-friendly.
Gallery Go automatically organizes your photos and videos based on date and category. The app can access photos stored on your device or on an SD card, and perform basic photo editing while connected or offline, so you can store and manage photos and videos without chewing up mobile data.
Gallery Go is lightweight, tipping the scales at only 10MB, and it works on Android phones and tablets outfitted with Android 8.1 (Oreo) or higher. Let’s see how it works.
Organize Photos
First, download Gallery Go from Google Play. When you first open the app, you grant it permission to access your photos, media, and files. Initially, the app arranges and displays your photos based on the date. Swipe down to travel back in time to see photos from the past.
The app can also organize your photos into categories such as Selfies, Screenshots, Animals, People, and Documents. That trick requires some artificial intelligence, which takes a bit of time after you first launch the app. You may have to wait a few hours and then check the app to see if it’s organized your photos into different categories.
Smart Categories
When Gallery Go finally does use its AI smarts to assign your photos to specific categories, you can view these groupings at the top of the main Photos screen.
Folders View
You can also view your photos and videos by folder. Tap the Folders icon at the bottom of the screen; this view arranges your photos and videos based on the ones snapped by your camera and stored internally, the ones taken as screenshots, and the ones stored on your SD card, among other options. Tap a folder to view the photos or videos inside it.
Create a Folder
You can create your own folders as well. At the Folders view, tap the three-dot icon in the upper right and select New Folder. Type the name you want to give the new folder. If your device has an SD card, you can choose whether to store the folder via internal storage or the card. Tap Create.
Add Photos
The app returns you to your Photos view where you can now select the photos you want to include in the new folder. Tap the photos you wish to add, then tap the Move button to move them.
You can also copy them, which might be a handy option if you want to store backups of certain photos in a different folder. Otherwise, moving the photos is a better way of organizing them on your device.
Move Photos
You can easily move (or copy) photos any time after you’ve taken them. Tap the three-dot icon in the upper right and choose Select photos. Tap the photos you want to move. Tap the three-dot icon again and choose the Move to command. Tap the folder to which you want to move the selected photos, and the images are moved.
Delete Photos
Next, you can delete photos from any view. Tap the three-dot icon and choose Select Photos. Tap the photos you wish to delete and then tap the Trash Can icon at the top. Confirm the deletion. Photos can also be deleted by opening a specific image and tapping Delete.
Share Photos
You can share photos through different apps and services. Tap the three-dot icon and choose Select photos. Note that when you tap the three-dot icon, you can choose the option to Select all. So you can move, copy, delete, or share all the photos in your current view. Tap the photos you want to share, then tap the Android Share icon at the top.
At the main Share screen, you can opt to share the photos via Bluetooth, Gmail, or Google Hangouts. Tap the Other icon to see more sharing options. At the next Share screen, you can choose from a variety of other apps and services. Tap the app or service you wish to use, such as Facebook. Then follow the screens to share the photos you selected. Photos can also be shared by opening a specific image and tapping Share.
Auto Edit
Now, it’s time for some editing. Tap a photo you think could stand some improvement. To give Gallery Go a shot at enhancing it, tap the Auto icon. The app tries to improve the photo automatically by adjusting the brightness, contrast, and other factors. Press and hold down the screen to see the difference between the original photo and the adjusted photo. If you like the changes, tap Replace. If not, tap Cancel.
Manual Edit
You can also perform some manual adjustments to a photo. Tap a photo you want to try to improve yourself, then tap the Edit icon. At the Edit screen, you can rotate and crop the image or apply a filter. When you’re finished with your changes, tap Save copy. When editing a video, you can’t run auto-enhance or apply any filters, but you can trim the video clip.
Originally published at www.pcmag.com.
