Google Photos just unveiled a yearly recap feature, which is a play on stuff like Spotify Wrapped and PlayStation Wrap-Up. This is a highlight reel of notable photos culled from the entire year, along with “fun graphics and cinematic effects.” I can’t wait to see snazzed-up photos of my cats.
In addition to random graphics and effects, the system will also generate captions to help denote two important events from the year for each user. These captions will be generated by Gemini, though users have to opt in. Google gave us examples of attending a wedding and taking a trip to Seoul.
The Recap feature will even provide “insights” in the form of tidbits about a particular user’s photo-taking habits. This could detail anything from a favorite color to the person a user smiles the most with. Google also promises that Recap will detail a user’s “2024 vibes.” The vibes of 2024? Yikes.
Just like rival yearly recap tools, folks can easily share everything to social media platforms. There’s also a little bit of a competitive element here, as each link will include data as to a particular user’s longest photo streak. Nothing creates more bragging rights than saying “you only took 560 photos this year, whereas I took 570.”
This feature is rolling out right now to all users. Just look for a notification from Google Photos that says it’s ready to view. The app also recently added a tool to detect images that have been manipulated by AI and, uh, other tools to manipulate photos by using AI.
