Google Photos adds favorite person shortcut for quick sharing

Abner Li | Mar 26 2024 - 9:40 am PT

To speed up sharing, Google Photos now lets you set a “Favorite shortcut” to “share instantly and in full quality with your favourite person.”

Users are being prompted about this feature in Library > Utilities > Add favorite shortcut. When you select a person, they will appear in the Google Photos share sheet that’s available when long-pressing on an image from the main feed/grid. Specifically, they are the first person in the “Send” carousel.

This is the in-app/service sharing solution built into Google Photos that has a messaging-esque UI. The icon is badged with a heart icon in the bottom-right corner, while Google emphasizes the “full quality” nature of this offering compared to alternatives. Its prominence has been somewhat diminished with the native Android 14 share sheet on newer devices.

You can only have one favorite at a time. To remove or change, go into Settings > Sharing Favorite shortcut.

The Favorite shortcut is rolling out with Google Photos 6.76 on Android. It’s not appearing on iOS.