Google Photos will soon let you star and heart favorite images

Google is pushing out an update to Google Photos that helps users identify their favorite images, helping locate them among the mass of hundreds or thousands of images captured with their smartphone. The new feature, once it arrives for everyone, lets users put a "star" on images they like the most, an icon that automatically earmarks them for the Favorites folder.

Google revealed the new feature in a tweet yesterday alongside a feature demonstrating the new favoriting ability. The star icon appears when an image is tapped so that it opens and fills the screen. The top-right corner where the casting and menu button are located now has a third participant: the star icon.

Tap that star and the image will be earmarked as a favorite photo. In the future, the user can then find that favorite image by tapping on the Favorites album within Google Photos. Only images that have been "starred" will be located within that album. According to Google, the star icon is rolling out to users this week.

Joining the new favoriting option is a second feature: a heart for liking other users' images. With the heart, which will launch "soon," Google Photos users can "like" someone's images by tapping a heart icon. The icon will be visible in images and albums shared by friends.

SOURCE: Twitter