How to automatically share photos with family and friends in Google Photos

Google Photos on a Pixel 4a
(Image credit: Android Central)

Google Photos is one of the best ways to manage and store all of your pictures and videos. With simple cloud backups and powerful search features, it makes saving all those precious memories as easy as can be.

If you find yourself storing a lot of stuff in Google Photos, you'll want to take advantage of its sharing features. The Photos app has a dedicated Sharing tab that allows you to share images with partners, family, and friends in a straightforward, hassle-free manner. Here's how to use it!

How to automatically share photos with family and friends in Google Photos

1. Open Google Photos on your phone.

2. Head into the Sharing tab.

(Image credit: Namerah Saud Fatmi / Android Central)

From this point onwards, there are several pathways that you can take to share images and videos. However, none of them are automated. In order to share your files automatically, you need to set up a partner. Here's how you can do that.

3. Select the Share with partner option.

4. Choose the starting date and which photos you want to share with your partner.

5. Tap Select partner.

(Image credit: Namerah Saud Fatmi / Android Central)

6. Type out the person's email or name if they're saved to your contacts.

7. Tap Confirm.

(Image credit: Namerah Saud Fatmi / Android Central)

8. Next, ask the person you're setting up as your partner to accept your invitation. They will receive a notification on their phone and an email as well.

(Image credit: Namerah Saud Fatmi / Android Central)

After your partner accepts the invitation, Google Photos will start sharing your pictures with them automatically.

Google Photos makes everything easy

With all that said and done, you now have Partner Sharing enabled on Google Photos. Your partner's Photos library will be updated regularly with new pictures and videos that you approved going forward. This is something that works in the background on its own, meaning you never have to worry about going in and manually adding photos.

This is also something that works on any Android phone, so whether you have one of the best Android phones or a budget offering, you can use the feature exactly the same.

Google Photos makes it incredibly easy to exchange high-quality photos and videos with others. Thanks to a clever Photos integration, you can even share these high-quality videos and images through Google Messages.

Google Photos

Google Photos

Editing, sharing, viewing, and more are made easy with Google Photos. This free gallery app is hands-down the best Android app for managing your pictures and videos.

Get from: <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.photos" data-link-merchant="play.google.com"">Google Play Store

Namerah Saud Fatmi
Editor — Accessories, speakers, and tablets

Namerah enjoys geeking out over accessories, gadgets, and all sorts of smart tech. She spends her time guzzling coffee, writing, casual gaming, and cuddling with her furry best friends. Find her on Twitter @NamerahS.