Skip to main content

How to turn Motion Photos on or off in the camera app on the Google Pixel 2 or 2 XL

Introduced with the Google Pixel 2, Motion Photos is an opinion in the camera application that records several frames before and after you take a photo. While it can make for a neat GIF, it takes up extra storage space and can be annoying to look at in the Photos app. Here’s how to turn Motion Photos off…

How to enable or disable motion photos in the Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL’s camera app

  1. Turning Motion Photos capture on or off in the camera app
  2.  Turning Motion Photos on or off in the Google Photos app
  3. Motion Photos going forward

1. Turning motion photo capture on or off in the camera app

When you first get the Google Pixel 2, Motion Photos is set to auto. What this means is that the camera app will decide using machine learning if it’s worth saving the short clip and turning it into a GIF.

To turn Motion Photos entirely off or on, head on into the camera app. At the top of the app’s interface, you will find a row of different icons. Tap on the circle that has an almost complete ring around it. Doing so will drop down the Motion settings. From here, you can set Motion to off, auto, or on.

Use the images below to help if you get lost along the way.

2. Turning motion photo on or off in the Google Photos app

If you’ve already take Motion Photos and they’ve been backed up to the Google Photos app, the moment you open the image it will begin playing the short video that was captured. As you can see from the screenshots below, you can play and pause the Motion by tapping on the button at the top of the interface. The option to turn Motion off will remain saved for that photograph within the Photos app and the next time you view it, the image will display as a normal still.

3. Motion Photos going forward

As introduced in version 3.13 of the Google Photos app, you now can search specifically for Motion Photos.

To find the new category, tap the search bar and navigate to the list of various content types. At the bottom, after the update, there is a new “Motion Photos” category that will show all images of that format in a regular grid view.

If you have any questions, make sure to leave them in the comment section below or hit me up on Twitter.


Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Google — experts who break news about Google and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Google on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

Author

Avatar for Justin Duino Justin Duino

I’m a writer for 9to5Google with a background in IT and Android development. Follow me on Twitter to read my ramblings about tech and email me at justin@jaduino.com. Tips are always welcome.


Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications