Google introduced a new and more privacy-focused media picker last year withAndroid 13, which it backported to older phones all the way to Android 4.4. In contrast to older methods, the new picker doesn’t give apps as much access to your private media files, but it has one big disadvantage: It currently can’t access media from your cloud storage. It looks like that’s finally about to change forGoogle Photosat least.
Android expert Mishaal Rahman found evidence that Google Photos integration might be just around the corner for the new photo picker, ashe writes on Android Authority. Recent versions of Google Photos have added support for the photo picker, and while it’s not yet user-facing, Rahman was able to turn on Google Photos media in the photo picker early.
For him, a new “Cloud media app” section appears in system settings under theAppsmenu. In it, a panel lets you choose between different cloud providers as the default “cloud media app,” which seems to suggest that you will only be able to have one activated at a time.
Once this toggle is flipped, a new banner appears at the top of the photo picker, noting: “Backed up photos now included.” You can either dismiss it or change the account via a provided link, making it easy to turn off the integration if you prefer not to use it. For Rahman, the feature is already fully functional. He could see and add images from Google Photos right from the photo picker.
Right now, you have to resort to an annoying workaround to use the photo picker to add images from the cloud. You can access the legacy system file picker using the overflow menu in the top right corner of the photo picker and then select Photos or any other cloud service you want to import images from.
Google initially promised to bring cloud storage support to the photo picker one and a half years ago at Google I/O 2022. While it may have taken the company a little longer than originally planned, it looks like we will finally be able to add images offloaded from our devices soon, all without ever leaving the new photo picker interface.
Here’s hoping that this also means we’re getting support for more cloud storage providers as well as a broader rollout of the new photo picker across more Android apps. It will likely take a while until the option is widely available, so be sure to check back in your settings app periodically to see if you have the option to add Photos. It’s also possible that as Google starts rolling Photos support, it will start appearing automatically when you have Photos set up.
