Gallery

Gallery Review: Google Photos Without the Cloud, and Without the Extras

Versus Google Photos: no upload, no search, no 15 GB limit

Google Photos backs your library up to the cloud and counts it against the 15 GB that a Google account shares across Gmail, Drive and Photos; more room means a Google One plan, starting at 100 GB for about $1.99 a month in the US (prices vary by region and can change). This app never uploads anything and does not pull in a Google Photos library, so it shows only what sits in the phone's storage or on its SD card. Google says the grouping into People, Selfies, Nature, Animals and Documents runs on the device, although face grouping is not offered in every country. Folders, Favourites and a Bin cover the rest. There is no search box: finding a picture means tapping a category or scrolling a folder.

Auto-enhance, filters and Save copy: how far the editor goes

Google's 2019 launch post listed auto-enhance, filters, rotate and crop, and the Play screenshot adds text, drawing and emoji tools next to a Save copy button. Edits go to a new file rather than over the original, so Play reviewers in August 2026 described rotating a batch as save a copy, then delete the old one, picture by picture. A July 2026 review from an artist, marked helpful by 33 people, says manual brightness and contrast are gone and only automatic filters remain. For finer control, Google's own Snapseed is free, carries no ads or subscription and lists more than 30 tools, including manual exposure and colour adjustment. Collages exist too, but reviewers say the layout cannot be chosen.

Locked Folder belongs to Google Photos, not to this app

The lockable album Google makes, Locked Folder, lives in Google Photos: it needs Android 6 or later and a screen lock, opens with the phone's own PIN or fingerprint, and hides its contents from every other app with media access, this one included. Google's help page also warns that items never backed up are deleted if you uninstall Photos or clear its data. Gallery has no hide or lock option of its own, and Play reviewers were still requesting one in August 2026. For a private album without the cloud, Fossify Gallery, an open-source viewer with no ads, can lock chosen photos or the whole app behind a PIN, pattern or fingerprint.

Preinstalled on Android Go phones since Android 10

Google unveiled the app at its Google for Nigeria event in July 2019, with itel's S15 and some A55 models as the first phones to ship it. With Android 10 (Go edition), Gallery Go joined the Google apps that makers of those budget phones must preinstall, and in May 2022 the Go suffix was dropped. Any phone on Android 8.0 or later can install it from Google Play, which took it from 100 million downloads in May 2021 to more than a billion. After a January 2025 release, reviews show no new version until May 2026, and that update made the back gesture close the app instead of returning to the grid; reviewers say a June 2026 release fixed it.