Partner Sharing support for third-party app images returns to Google Photos

(Image credit: Jay Bonggolto / Android Central)

What you need to know

Google highlights the return of automatic third-party photo content sharing via Partner Sharing.
A post states this will return as a new "Include content from other Android apps" option within the Photos app's Partner Sharing settings.
While Google originally removed it to help reduce "clutter," user feedback has pushed it to return the feature.

Google is rolling out an update for Photos that brings the return of a feature it dropped a few months ago.

In a community post, the Google Photos team highlighted the return of Partner Sharing for users on Android (via 9to5Google). As the company reiterates, Partner Sharing was an easy tool users could leverage to share pictures from third-party apps. Google originally removed it with the goal of "reducing clutter" and promoting "focus" on your partner's feed.

However, a wealth of user feedback has urged Google to return it to form.

Rolling out this week, Google says the Photos app will pick up a new setting where "screenshots or saved photos backed up from other apps" are shared with your partner automatically. The post states the "other apps" specification concerns apps like social media and the like. Users will retain a bit of privacy as Google says the "Include content from other Android apps" setting is disabled by default.

Additionally, users are said to always remain in control of what third-party photos are shared with partners. Once this arrives, if you've enabled it, your screenshots and pictures from other apps will be shown to your partner. If disabled at any time, those photos will disappear from their view.

Users voiced their opinions behind Google's removal of automatic screenshot/saved third-party pictures in Photos last November. Without much warning, users noticed their screenshots were no longer appearing on their partner's feed. Google hadn't communicated the change via a Photos app pop-up. Instead, the company quitely highlighted the change in a support document.

It wasn't until a couple of weeks later that Google properly announced the change, stating it was for the sake of "reducing clutter."

The original reports from Reddit stated downloads, screenshots, and photos from other Android apps weren't being shared. The Google Photos update rolling out this week with the new setting should return things to how it was.

Speaking of decluttering your app, Google's Collections tab in Photos was made for just that purpose. The view offered a themed view for all of your albums, like "People & Pets," "Places," and "Documents." During its arrival, the company said it wanted to "streamline" the experience for users looking to get into certain memories quickly. Elsewhere, Google kicked off its test in the U.S. for "Ask Photos," an AI-based feature that lets you talk to Gemini about your stored content.

The test kicked off last fall and, since then, the company has rolled out a slight UI redesign to give users more agency.

Nickolas is always excited about tech and getting his hands on it. Writing for him can vary from delivering the latest tech story to scribbling in his journal. When Nickolas isn't hitting a story, he's often grinding away at a game or chilling with a book in his hand.