Edit your photos

Add filters, crop photos, and more on your mobile device or computer.

Tip: If you have back up & sync turned on, your edits will sync to your Google Photos Account.

Before you get started

Download and install the Google Photos app.

Tips:
  • While you edit a photo, the icon turns blue when you apply certain features to a photo.
  • To compare your edited photo to the original, tap and hold the image preview.
  • To undo changes to an edited photo, tap Edit Edit and then Revert. You can't undo changes to photos you save as a copy.
  • After you edit a photo, to save changes, at the bottom right, tap Save. You may find two options on how to save:
    • Save: Saves your changes to the original photo. You might not be able to use this option for certain edits.
    • Save as copy: Makes a new photo with your edits and doesn’t change the original.
Use suggested edits
Google Photos suggests edit options based on the type of photo you want to edit, that you can apply with one tap.
  1. Open the photo you want to edit and tap Edit Edit.
  2. To apply a suggested edit, tap the suggestion name.
    • For example, tap Enhance .
  3. To undo changes, tap the suggested edit option again.
  4. When you are finished, tap Save.
Crop or rotate a photo
  1. Open the photo you want to edit.
  2. Tap Edit Edit and then Crop.
    • To crop the photo to different aspect ratios, like a square, tap Aspect ratio .
    • To change the photo's perspective, tap Transform . Drag the dots to the edges of your desired photo or tap Auto.
    • To rotate a photo 90 degrees, tap Rotate .
      • To make minor adjustments to straighten the photo, use the dial above Rotate .
      • To automatically straighten the photo, tap Auto.
        • Note: Auto straighten availability will depend on the photo.
  3. To save a copy of the photo with your edits, at the bottom right, tap Save.
Adjust photos
  1. Open the photo you want to edit.
  2. Tap Edit Edit and then Adjust.
  3. Select the type of effect you want to apply to your photo and move the dial to make changes.
  4. When you are finished, tap Done.
  5. To undo an effect, deselect the option or tap Cancel.

Learn more ways to adjust photos

Important: Some features might not be available on your device.
  • Tap Blur to adjust background blur.
  • Tap Depth to adjust what depths of your photo are blurred instead of in focus.
  • Tap Color focus to desaturate the background, but keep the foreground in color.
  • Tap Portrait light  to adjust the position and brightness of light to portraits of a person.
  • Tap Brightness to adjust the overall lightness or darkness.
  • Tap Contrast  to adjust the difference in tones.
  • Tap White point to adjust the brightest value.
  • Tap Black point to adjust the darkest value.
  • Tap Highlights  to adjust the detail in the brightest areas.
  • Tap Shadows to adjust the detail in the darkest areas.
  • Tap Saturation to adjust the intensity of colors.
  • Tap Warmth to adjust the color temperature.
  • Tap Tint to adjust the hue.
  • Tap Skin tone to adjust the saturation of the skin-colored tones.
  • Tap Blue tone to adjust the saturation of the blue tones, like sky or water.
  • Tap Pop  to adjust the local contrast of edges.
  • Tap Sharpen  to sharpen fine details.
  • Tap Denoise  to smooth out noise.
  • Tap Vignette  to reduce the brightness around the edges of the photo.
Add a filter
  1. Open the photo you want to edit.
  2. Tap Edit Edit and then Filters.
  3. Select a filter.
  4. Tap the filter again and move the dial to change the strength of the filter on the photo.
  5. To undo a filter, select Original.
Draw on, highlight, or add text to a photo
  1. Open the photo you want to edit.
  2. Tap Edit Edit and then Markup.
    • To draw, tap Pen Pen.
    • To add highlights, tap Highlight Highlighter.
    • To add text on top of a photo, tap Text Text .
      • To move the text box around, touch and hold it and then drag.
  3. When you are finished, tap Done.
  4. To save a copy of the photo with your edits, at the bottom right, tap Save as copy.
Save new shots from your motion photos
When you take a motion photo of a friend or a group, Google Photos will sometimes recommend another shot from your motion photo. You can also pick your favorite shot.
  1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Photos app Photos.
  2. Open a motion photo.
  3. Swipe up on the photo.
  4. Tap Shots in this photo.
  5. Scroll through the shots in your picture and pick your favorite.
    • If you took the photo with a Pixel 3, you might see recommended shots. They will have a white dot over them.
    • The original photo will have a gray dot over it.
  6. To save a new photo, tap Save as copy.

Shots you save appear in your photos next to the original photo.

Extra editing features

If you're a Google One member or a Pixel user, you can get more editing features through the Google Photos app. Your device must have at least 3 GB RAM and Android 8.0 and up.

To unlock features, subscribe to Google One:

  1. From a photo, tap Edit Edit.
  2. Tap a feature that’s available to Google One members Google One.
  3. To unlock features with a Google One membership, tap the banner.
  4. To join Google One, follow the on-screen instructions.

Use these extra editing features: 

  • Portrait light : Change the position and brightness of light for photos of people.  
  • Blur : Blur the background on certain photos of people not captured in portrait mode.
  • Color focus : Desaturate the background, while you keep the foreground in color for photos of people. 
  • Smart suggestions : Easy to use one-tap edits that adapt to each photo's content. 

Important: You can still use blur, color focus, and the color pop suggestion on photos taken in portrait mode (with depth information) even if you’re not a Google One member or Pixel user.

Related resources

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