If you're snapping pictures with your smartphone, whether it's an iPhone or an Android device, you should be using Google Photos to back them up.
It's the best solution, by far, and works across platforms so you can open and view your photos whether you're on a computer, a tablet or a smartphone. Even better, it's free unless you want to store pictures that are greater than 16MP (most smartphones don't go higher than that, so no worries.) It even automatically stores free 1080p video.
Google Photos is loaded with fun and unique features that add to the pleasure of flipping through old vacation pictures, and has the best search options on the market. We'll walk you through setup and how to use some of those features now.
Download the Google Photos app from the Google Play Store or the iTunes App Store on your smartphone. If you have Android, it's probably pre-installed.
Log in with a Google Account and choose the option to automatically back-up images.
Your smartphone photos will automatically upload. Now let's see what you can do with Google Photos, and what makes it the best.
Google Photos lets you search for all sorts of things.
I'm using the Web version so it's easier to see. A search for "dog" returned pictures of dogs that I've snapped, Most are of my dachshund Mabel.
You can even search seemingly obscure things, like "Christmas" for pictures from the holidays
Or an activity like golf
Google Photos automatically creates albums for your trips.
See how it has auto-created albums for "Trip to Seattle" and "Weekend in Washington," for example.
If you click a picture and tap the info button, you can see where it was snapped, the camera you used and the settings that were applied
If you tap edit, you can crop, apply filters or make brightness/color changes right from your phone or Web browser.
An "Assistant" page takes the photos you upload and automatically creates movies, "stylized photos" with effects, GIFs and more.
Checking this page always yields a surprise from your uploads.
The Assistant tab also lets you manually create your own collages, movies, albums and animated photos.
You can also create a shared album with anyone, who can use Google Photos to upload their own images to the album.
You can even create hard and soft cover photo books, which start at $9.99 and $19.99, respectively
That's just a sampling of what you can do with Google Photos. Explore the app on your smartphone, tablet or computer to take full advantage of everything. And, better yet, you'll always have these photos, even if you upgrade to a new smartphone.