This analysis describes version 7.94.0.984908898 of the app (the version number recorded inside the package we inspected), analyzed 2026-10-18 . The app may have changed since.

The store lists the version as varying by device, updated 2026-10-16.

Preview

Store screenshots supplied by the developer.

About this app

Google Photos is the home for all your photos and videos. Easily store, edit, organize, and search your memories with the help of Google AI.

• 15 GB OF CLOUD STORAGE: Every Google account gets up to 15 GB of storage*, 3X more than many other cloud storage services. So you can back up and keep your memories safe automatically on all of your devices.

• AI-POWERED EDITING TOOLS: Make complex edits in just a few taps. Remove unwanted distractions with Magic Eraser. Improve out-of-focus blurry photos with Unblur. Enhance lighting and brightness with Portrait Light.

• SEARCH MADE SIMPLE: Your photos are easily searchable in a natural, descriptive way, like “Alice and me laughing,” “Kayaking on a lake surrounded by mountains” or “Emma painting in the backyard.”…

From the developer’s store description.

For developers and the curious

The full report

The evidence, sources, measurements and versions behind every label above.

Findings and evidence

2 published · 3 shown, not confirmed

Context 1

Facts that add context without being a charge.

Asks for more sensitive permissions than similar apps

Measured

Requests 9 sensitive permissions (ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION, ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION, CAMERA, READ_CALENDAR, READ_CONTACTS, READ_MEDIA_IMAGES, READ_PHONE_STATE, RECORD_AUDIO, SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW); the median for 116 scanned apps in Photography i…

Sources: The app manifest
Agreement: A measured fact from one deterministic, checkable source.
Where measured: Found in the Android app’s package

Definition

The package requests substantially more of the device's sensitive permissions than the typical app in its category. This is a measurement, not an accusation: a permission is granted because a feature needs it, and a wide request list is a reason to look rather than a finding on its own.

Package artefact

sha256:c1d5415a97daa3ced7014c96f47fa9d413deec170a14c826ed19cbf9cbd14de1

Positives 1

Specific evidence of a useful property, within the stated scope.

Developer says data deletion can be requested

Measured

The developer's store data-safety disclosure states that data deletion can be requested; we have not seen a deletion control in the app's own text

Sources: The store listing
Agreement: A measured fact from one deterministic, checkable source.
Where measured: From the Google Play listing

Definition

The developer's data-safety disclosure on the store states that users can request deletion of their data, or the app's own text offers a way to delete the account. This restates what the developer declares; it is not a test of whether deletion works. Apple publishes no equivalent disclosure, so on an Apple-only listing only the app's own text can support it.

Open evidence

One source only — shown, not confirmed 3

Open observations that have not cleared the evidence bar.

Trial terms not stated in the app's own text

One source only

Offers a free trial ("Failed to force fetch G1 free trial") with no renewal price, renewal date or auto-renew notice anywhere in the app's own text

Sources: The app's own on-screen text
Agreement: Only one kind of source so far. Shown, not counted.
Where measured: Found in the Android app’s package

This observation has not cleared the required evidence standard.

Definition

The app's own screens offer a free trial without stating, beside it, what happens when the trial ends. Read this as context rather than as a charge: renewal terms are normally shown on the store's purchase sheet instead, which we cannot see, and we can only observe one kind of evidence for this — so it is shown, but never counted as a charge.

Package artefact

sha256:c1d5415a97daa3ced7014c96f47fa9d413deec170a14c826ed19cbf9cbd14de1

Aggressive ad load

One source only

Aggressive ad load: raised by 9 distinct reviewers (0.1% of 13780 reviews scanned)

Sources: User reviews
Agreement: Only one kind of source so far. Shown, not counted.
Where measured: From Google Play reviews

This observation has not cleared the required evidence standard.

Definition

Advertising volume or placement that interrupts normal use: ads between every action, unskippable or forced full-screen ads.

Open evidence

Tracking and data collection concerns

One source only

Data & privacy concerns: raised by 7 distinct reviewers (0.1% of 13780 reviews scanned)

Sources: User reviews
Agreement: Only one kind of source so far. Shown, not counted.
Where measured: From Google Play reviews

This observation has not cleared the required evidence standard.

Definition

The app ships session-recording or a wide tracking stack, holds permissions that read personal data, or is reported by users to sell, leak or over-collect it. The evidence line says which of those was observed.

Open evidence

Nothing was published as a thing to watch for in this assessment. That is not a finding that nothing is wrong with the app.

What reviewers report

13,780 reviews read · 2 review-based observations

13,780 reviews read for this analysis. Each observation keeps the sample and store it was based on.

Aggressive ad load

Shown, not confirmed

No sampled quote is attached to this observation.

Tracking and data collection concerns

Shown, not confirmed

No sampled quote is attached to this observation.

A sampled review illustrates one person’s experience. It does not establish a finding on its own.

Measurements

8 measured · 0 not assessed

Supporting measurements. They are not a complete list of possible harms or positives. “Not assessed” means we could not measure it — never zero, never a pass.

From store data and reviews

Developer replies to reviews

Replies to at least 1 review in 20

Price in the store description

States no price and billing period

Cancelling, in the store description

Does not say how to cancel

Themes reported by reviewers

2 themes reported

Counted from the reviews we have read for this app. "No theme reported" means no theme reached our reporting threshold — it is not a finding that nothing is wrong with this app, and we do not say it is.

Five-star share of ratings

65–79% five-star

Arithmetic on the stores' own published rating counts. It says nothing about why the ratings fall where they do.

In the app package we scanned

Android package 7.94.0.984908898, scanned 28 Sep 2026. These describe that package, not the current store version.

Sensitive permissions

6 or more requested

Counted against a fixed list of eighteen sensitive Android permissions: sixteen runtime permissions, among them location, camera, microphone, contacts and SMS, and two the user must switch on in system settings, drawing over other apps and usage access. Requesting one is not itself a finding.

Analytics or tracking SDKs in the scanned package

1–2 found

Advertising SDKs in the scanned package

None found

Counted as distinct SDKs in the package we scanned. One mediation bundle can contribute several, so this is not a count of advertisers.

Measurement vocabulary 1.4 · how these are measured

Versions and dates analysed

Assessed 18 Oct 2026

This analysis describes version 7.94.0.984908898 of the app (the version number recorded inside the package we inspected), analyzed 2026-10-18 . The app may have changed since.

The store lists the version as varying by device, updated 2026-10-16.

Store update history

Each store’s release notes, as the developer wrote them. They are the developer’s words, not ours.

Google Play

Version varies by device · 2026-10-16

No release notes were provided for this version.

Version varies by device · 2026-10-13

No release notes were provided for this version.

Assessment record

Status: Automated analysis
App identifier: google-photos-google-com-google-android-apps-photos
Assessment date: 18 Oct 2026
Sources used: 6 independent signals: user reviews, SDKs in the app package, the app's own on-screen text, the app manifest, the store listing and the store privacy disclosure
Reviews read: 13,780
Package examined: Android · 7.94.0.984908898 · scanned 28 Sep 2026
Measurement vocabulary: 1.4
Human inspection: Not completed

Assessed 2026-10-18 from 13,780 user reviews, the app's package, the store listing and its privacy label.

How this page was produced

Analyzed 2026-10-18 Version analyzed: 7.94.0.9849088986 independent signals13,780 reviews scannedConfidence: HighNot human-reviewedVocabulary v1.13Methodology v1.3

Signals run: user reviews, SDKs in the app package, the app's own on-screen text, the app manifest, the store listing and the store privacy disclosure.

Store facts

Google Play

What the stores publish. Store ratings are the stores’ numbers, not Appworthy’s, and are never averaged across stores.

Google Play

Store rating: 4.39 ★ · 54,170,311 ratings
Version: Varies by device
Updated: 16 Oct 2026
Price: Free
Age rating: 4+
Size: Not supplied

Open in Google Play

Developer: Google LLC
Category: Photo & Video
Listing price: Free

No itemized purchase list is available for this listing.

Method and limits

What this report can and cannot show

How the automated analysis works

This assessment is produced automatically. Six independent signals are read — user reviews, SDKs in the app package, the app's own on-screen text, the app manifest, the store listing and the store privacy disclosure — and each candidate finding is filed under the sources that support it.

No charge stands on one kind of evidence — with one published exception. A finding is either a measured fact that anyone can reproduce (an ad SDK is in the package; every subscription bills weekly; the privacy label omits a tracker we can see), or it is an interpretation — and an interpretation needs independent sources to agree before it reaches the catch list. The exception is a harm only users can see: a charge may publish from reviews alone, as “Reported by N users”, once enough reviewers raise it to clear that charge’s own published bar. That agreement rule is what replaced the human reviewer, not a model’s confidence.

There is no overall score, on purpose. A 0–99 number was published here until 2026-09-15. It was withdrawn because it discriminated too weakly to be the instrument — 44.7% of every pair of apps tied — and because a single number is a verdict where a count is an observation. What publishes instead is a row of measurements, each of which says what was counted and, where we could not look, says that instead.

Findings under One source only are real reports we do not stand behind as findings. They are shown because withholding them entirely would hide a genuine complaint, and labelled because publishing them as charges would be an accusation off a single source.

Limits of this report

A package scan is static. It identifies code and text in one Android build. It does not measure a live ad session, test a deletion request, or count the steps needed to cancel.
Reviews keep their sample. A review-only charge shows distinct reviewers, the share and the sample size, and is published only once it clears that label’s published threshold. Calibration labels are machine-drafted and not yet confirmed by a person.
Not assessed is a state. It is never a zero and never a pass.
A missing label is not a clean bill of health. It means the evidence did not support one, not that the app is problem-free.

Not yet human-reviewed. A hands-on test can confirm or contradict a finding and adds its own measurements; it does not change a measurement row. Hands-on inspections are not yet open.

Review thresholds Read the methodology For developers

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