Google Photos debuted in 2015 as an online picture and video storage platform, but over the last eight years it has expanded to incorporate features such as photo sharing. However, if you only use Google photographs to save and share photographs, you are losing out on many important services.

Here are five Google Photos features to test right now.

Search for words in photos.

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Let’s imagine you obtain a new gadget and need to input your Wi-Fi password. You snapped a snapshot of the password for months, or even

Years ago. Instead than going through your images to locate the password, search for “Wi-Fi,” or any other term, in your Google images library.

Google photographs employs optical character recognition to detect text in your photographs. Simply type the text into the search tool, and Google photographs will return photographs containing that phrase.

Make your next buy based on a photo.
When shopping for large products, such as a couch or dining room table, you should compare prices to ensure you’re receiving the greatest value. To avoid being duped, put your Google pictures through Google Lens to locate comparable goods.

You may use Google Lens to identify

You may also use it to interpret and understand signs when you buy other products such as food, plants, and clothing. Here’s how to utilize the Google Lens smartphone app.

1. Open Google Photos on your smartphone or tablet.

2. Select the photo that you want to use Google Lens on.

3. Tap the Google Lens icon toward the bottom of the screen; the icon has three rounded edges and a dot in the fourth corner.

4. Google Lens will display a new menu at the bottom of your screen, with choices such as Translate, Search, and Shopping. Tap the one you wish to access.

Google Lens can be used on Google Photos’ desktop version, although it just transcribes and interprets text.

in pictures. Here’s how you utilize it.

1. Sign into your Google Photos account.

2. Select the photo that you want to use Google Lens on.

3. At the top of the photo, you should see a bubble with the Google Lens emblem and the phrase “Copy text from image.” The image’s text will show in a different option beside your photo.

Hide particular individuals and dates from Memories
Memories displays images and videos from years past, content based on certain events and locations, and products with specific individuals in them. Google, however, allows you to conceal these photos using the company’s face recognition algorithms. That’s useful in case you break up with your significant other

I don’t want to see those dumb faces anymore.

Here’s how to conceal specific individuals and locations from your mobile device.

1. Launch the Google Photos application.

2. Tap your profile in the upper right corner.

3. Select Google Photo options.

4. Select Memories.

From here, you may choose to hide persons and pets or hide dates. Choosing people & pets displays the faces of people and dogs in your images, and you may conceal as many as you like. Choosing dates prompts you to enter two dates, a start and finish date, and any photographs taken between those dates will not display in your memories.

You may also do this on the PC.

1. Sign into your Google Photos account.

2. Select Settings.

3. Click the arrow next to Memories.

You’ll see the same Hide persons & pets and Hide dates choices as in the app.

Create a scrapbook or canvas print.
You don’t need to travel to a third-party business or website to create a scrapbook or print your images on canvas using Google images. You may combine all of them and purchase them in Google Photos via Print Shop.

You can access the Print Shop in both the mobile version of Google Photos (represented by a shopping bag symbol in the upper left corner of your screen) and the desktop version (located on the left side of your screen). Once here, you can select to create a canvas print, scrapbook, or

Picture prints of your photographs. Google Photos also displays the initial price for each item. Your products can be sent to your house or delivered to a nearby participating shop for pickup.

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Edit the sky.
A purple night sky, with a crimson moon and a tree in the foreground.
This photo was taken around 4 a.m. in January.
Zach McAuliffe / CNET
Not every day can be blue skies and sunshine. If you have a Google One subscription, you may be able to make it seem like that in your photographs. Google Photos features a variety of editing choices, including one called Sky, which allows you to change the appearance of the sky. The

The function will not make a night photo look like it was shot at noon, but it will make that night photo appear to have been taken at dusk.

For more information on Google services, see why you should download Google Maps offline before traveling and how to blur your house on Google Maps.