Apptoberfest: Google Photos

Happy Apptoberfest!

Today I'm wrapping up a month of sharing some of my favorite apps. If you missed the past few weeks, click the following links to read more about Teach Your Monster to Read,  IXL Math, and The Bible For Kids.

Apptoberfest App of the Week: Google Photos

​Cost: Free!

​Who is this App For?

Google photos is for people who take lots of pictures. It's for anyone with a device with a memory that is full. It's for those who don't want to pay for iCloud. It's for people who want to have all of their pictures backed up and secure without much work on their part.

​What Does It Do?

​We've all seen the screen to the right. Because the memory of our phone is so full of images and videos, we can't take new pictures, updates apps, or even update the software of our phone. While companies like Apple have made it easy to save pictures to the cloud, the price for these iCloud services is hard to stomach. Enter Google Photos. Google Photos is everything you'll want in a photo app. This simple but powerful app collects, stores and organizes pictures for free. Does your current photos app measure up? Does it have all of these features listed below? 

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Automatic Backup: Snap a picture on your phone or tablet and Google Photos will instantly back up the image to the cloud. Within seconds, the image you take will be waiting for you to access from anywhere in the world. No more worrying about losing pictures in the event you drop or damage your device. And for those with smaller data plans, you can set it up to backup your pictures only when you're connected to wifi or only when your phone is charging.

Unlimited Storage: Yes you read that correctly. Google will back up as many images as you can take for free. No limit. So what's the catch? Your pictures have to be smaller than 16"x24." Luckily I don't take pictures this large. You probably don't either. So for all intents and purposes, you can backup as much as you want to the cloud and you won't be charged for it. This is true for your computer as well. It's time to clear off that too, isn't it?

Accessibility: Not only can you easily access your pictures from your device through the Photos app, you can access all of your pictures from all of your devices on all of your devices.
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Clear Space: If you go into the settings of Google Photos and click "Clear Space," Google photos will automatically remove any photos from your device that have already been backed up. You can also set it up to instantly backup and remove a picture once they are taken.

Shared Folders: Going on vacation with some friends? Create a shared folder at the beginning of the trip and all of your images will appear in the same folder ready for you to enjoy when you get home, without all the hassle of finding, sending and uploading.

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Search by Topics: Only want to see pictures of your dog? Want to know what you were up to in December 2015? Simply type words like "Decemeber 2015" or "dog" into the search field, and Google's AI will seek these pictures out for you. This works with words like "selfie," "group shots," or even a location like "Ludington, Michigan." This can be super handy if you remember something in the image or if you are looking for a specific event in your collection.

For more specifics on how to set up Google Photos on your phone, tablet or computer, check out this site and download the app using the links below.

​Why Should You Care?

Your pictures are to valuable to lose and your time is worth a lot too. Download Google Photos and snap away knowing all of your pictures are backed up, organized, and secure. Ask anyone you know who has it on their phone, and they'll tell you the same.

Where Can I Download It?

Download the
Desktop Auto Uploader:
​​photos.google.com/apps

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