Google Photos to add more personalized Memories collections, 3D Cinematic photos

Damien Wilde | May 18 2021 - 11:50 am PT

A really neat part of the machine learning algorithms used by Google Photos is the ability to identify similar core image traits and create the popular — and constantly evolving — Memories collections. During the I/O 2021 keynote, Google confirmed that Memories collections are set to get even more personalized, and we’ll even get 3D enhanced Cinematic photos joining the mix.

Memories and recent highlights are an awesome way to surface some of the best of your uploads to Google Photos, but it has been limited to selected, common themes. Google claims that most of the 4 trillion images uploaded to Photos are never even viewed after uploading. That’s why using enhanced machine learning, to create dedicated collections of images that share similar traits.

Google Photos will be able to determine shapes, colors, and themes to serve up the new personalized Memories collections and help showcase some images you might have forgotten about. For instance, you might have a favorite jacket. Photos could pick out all the images you’ve taken wearing the garment and serve them in a digital photobook.

There will also be a prominent showcase of holidays and common events like Diwali, Lunar New Year, and Hanukkah with personalized Memories collections created provided you have appropriate images in your Google Photos library. Best of Month Memories and Trip highlights are also set to roll out from today from within the app photo grid.

On top of that, Cinematic photos are getting another level of excellence with 3D versions of your favorite images. Google is calling this new AI-generated image “Cinematic moments” and it synthesizes any movement between two images to create a 3D parallax effect that looks like real animation. Any two near identical images can be transformed into a Cinematic moment, no matter the age of the images. This literally adds another dimension to otherwise static images.

Another new addition coming to Google Photos is the ability to tweak or exclude any image or series or albums from personalized Memories collections. Google states that this was a highly requested feature from the transgender community, as surfacing certain images can be painful experience. You can now hide photos from a certain time period, therefore removing them from any AI-generated collection ahead of time.

This will be joined by more granular controls for renaming Trip highlights and even the ability to remove them completely. Single photos will also be eligible to be removed from the new Best of the Month Memories, too.

The final new addition is that of Locked Folder, which is a password-protected space for certain photos on your device/account. On Pixel devices, you’ll even have the ability to save photos directly to a Locked Folder right from the camera app. More deeply personalized Memories collections and enhanced controls will begin rolling out in Google Photos later this summer, while the other features will begin rolling out from today.