The Android photo picker is about to get a major upgrade

When you’re choosing a photo to upload to social media or edit using an image editing software, you’re usually tied to the pictures that are on your phone. However, the Android photo picker is about to get a major upgrade by integrating Google Photos as a storage option. This will make it so much easier to access your images stored in cloud storage.

The Android photo picker has been getting some updates recently. It got a revamp with Android 13, and it’s continuing to get changes. When it comes to choosing images to use in different apps, it’s really great at showing you the photos you have stored on your device. However, there are people who primarily store their photos in the cloud. This means that if they want to upload their photos or edit them in an app, they have to first download the photo from the cloud storage. That’s not extremely inconvenient, but it can be tedious if you have to do it on a constant basis.

The Android photo picker will integrate with Google Photos

The February 2024 Android system update is on its way. When it lands, it’ll bring a new functionality to the Android photo picker. When you summon it after the update, you’ll see a banner letting you know that cloud photos are available. The banner will have two options. If you are completely okay with this, simply tap on the Dismiss button. However, if you don’t want to implement your Google Photos content, you can tap on the Manage Account button. This will give you the ability to deactivate it.

If you choose to keep it on, then you will see your Google Photos albums along with your local albums. Simply tap on the Albums tab, and you will see them. Also, you will see your Favorites album.

This process will make it so much easier to upload and share pictures that are not stored on your device.

You don’t only have to use Google photos

In the settings, you’re able to assign Google Photos as the cloud storage option. However, you don’t only have to use Google Photos. You’re actually allowed to assign the cloud storage platform that you want to use. So, if you have your files saved on Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, Mega, etc., you will be able to use those.