Decluttering Google Photos: A User's Journey
A long-time Google Photos user accumulated tens of thousands of photos and videos across their devices over a decade. The library became chaotic, with screenshots and miscellaneous items mixed in with personal photos, making it difficult to find specific people or events. To declutter the gallery, the user employed various features within Google Photos.
The first step was archiving, which allowed the user to sweep miscellaneous photos and clips off their main timeline while keeping them visible in search results. This feature also made it easy to restore archived items back to the primary library at any time.
Additionally, the user utilized a toggle to hide screenshots and GIFs from the main feed, isolating generated stickers in a dedicated album. The Locked Folder was used to protect sensitive items, while the Private Album on Samsung Galaxy devices provided an equivalent feature for isolating private media.