Most of us have thousands of photos on our phone, and finding the right one usually means a lot of scrolling. Here is the good news: your phone has already looked at every photo and worked out what is in it. You just need to ask.
On an iPhone
- Open the Photos app.
- Tap the magnifying glass in the bottom right corner.
- Type what you are looking for, like dog, beach, cake or a place such as Bondi.
- Tap a suggestion, then scroll through your matching photos.
On an Android phone
Most Android phones use Google Photos for pictures.
- Open the Google Photos app.
- Tap Search at the bottom of the screen. On some phones it says Ask.
- Type what is in the photo, like birthday cake or sunset.
- Tap any photo in the results to open it.
Have a Samsung phone? The Gallery app can search too. Tap the magnifying glass at the top of Gallery and type what you are looking for.
On a computer with Google Photos
If your photos back up to Google Photos, you can search them from any computer as well.
- Go to photos.google.com and sign in.
- Click the search bar at the top.
- Type what you are looking for and press Enter.
Handy searches to try
- A person's name, once you have named them in the People section
- A place, like Sydney or Port Macquarie
- A month or year, like Christmas 2024
- Words in a photo, like a phone number on a receipt you snapped
- Screenshots or documents, to find photos of paperwork
New photos can take a little while to show up in search. If a photo from this morning does not appear yet, try again in a day or two.
Want a hand naming the people in your photos or backing them up safely? A friendly local technician can show you at your kitchen table.