Google Photos Said to Be Testing a Tinder-Style Swipe-Based Photo Deletion Feature

Google Photos appears to be testing a new feature that lets users delete or keep an image by swiping right or left on it, similar to Tinder. Several netizens claimed to have spotted this unnamed feature on Saturday. The feature is said to only appear when the app is opened, and in most cases, it vanishes after the first use. It could be that the Mountain View-based tech giant is testing this feature with select users to better understand how to implement it and if users prefer it.

Google Photos Could Let Users Swipe to Delete Images

First spotted by Android Authority, Redditor u/Praise_the_Tsun posted on the r/GooglePixel group, claiming to have seen this Tinder-style photo deletion feature. According to the post, the user discovered the new Google Photos feature while opening the app. A new pop-up offered users the opportunity to play a swiping game to manage their storage.

The Redditor claimed that the app showed them about 250 photos before they exited the app. However, after re-entering the app, the user was not able to find the feature again. Interestingly, this is not an isolated instance. A Telegram user also shared a screenshot of the Tinder-style feature.

Google Photos' swipe-to-delete feature is shrouded in mysteries. Android Authority found that six months ago, another Redditor posted about the same feature and shared a screenshot. The post mentioned that the user was able to access the tool twice before it vanished. To make matters more intriguing, another Reddit user shared an idea about the same feature (swipe to delete) in a post seven years ago.

The Tinder-style swiping feature does have its benefits. Typically, the only way to bulk delete images from Google Photos is to go to the Manage storage option in Settings, and then bulk select blurry or large files and delete them. As mentioned by those who tried out the feature, the swiping mechanism is more fun to delete (or keep) photos while killing some free time. Currently, it is unclear if or when the tech giant plans to release it.