Photos App May Not Be Your Chum
There was a sharply polarised reaction to last week’s launch of Google’s new Photos App.
To some commentators it is a winner all the way.
Unlimited free cloud storage for snaps that will kick anything Apple, Flickr, Microsoft or Amazon are offering into the long grass.
For others, it is yet another bit of Google sleight of hand, designed to make money for them by duping us.
For the time being at least, Google will store a copy of every picture from your phone, tablet and PC for free up to a 16Mb size limit, with little or no quality degradation and help sort them into albums.
It can also add filters, create collages and turn a series of shots into mini-movies set to music.
Detractors, though, find warning bells ringing when Google says its approach to sorting the pictures involves scanning them to determine whether they are people, places or things.
It will recognise well-known landmarks and help you find that picture you took of the Trevi Fountain. It will also use facial recognition to group photos of the same person together, even if they have changed hairstyles or are ten years older.
According to the doomsayers, this is all valuable information that Google will use to sell advertising.
Upload thirty pictures of the same dog and suddenly you will be bombarded with ads for Pedigree Chum.
Upload regular batches of snaps from city breaks and Google will be using its fancy algorithms to figure out which capital you might want to fly off to next time. No such thing as a free lunch, they say.
Time will tell.
