What is Google Gallery Go and How Does It Work?

Google Gallery Go is a lightweight photo management app released in Nigeria in July 2019. It's designed to work on Android Go phones in areas where mobile data is limited, but it works on any Android phone, and some users find it helpful, even in areas where mobile data is widely available. Here's everything you need to know about the Google Gallery app.

What Makes Google Gallery Go Different

Most Android phone users live in areas where mobile data is widely (and easily) available, but not everyone does. Even in areas where mobile data is available, some pre-paid users have data limitations. However, modern smartphones have great cameras and are often used to capture all manner of images, and users in areas where mobile data is limited struggle with managing those images through services like Google Photos or other third-party apps.

To help alleviate the problems users with limited data experience while managing photos, Google developed Gallery Go. At a tiny 10 MB, the Gallery Go app uses machine learning to automatically organize photographs by the people and things users most often take pictures of.

There's no need for users to manually label photos so they can find the images they're looking for later. Users can also create folders to organize photos in any way they like, but without using their limited mobile data.

Gallery Go is a Limited Google Pictures App, but Still Useful

Google's picture apps, like Google Photos, are popular because they're easy to use and accessible for everyone. Gallery Go is no exception, but it does have limited capabilities. Users can manage their photos and do some mild editing without using mobile data, and they can even share those images when mobile data is available.

Among the editing capabilities available to users is the ability to automatically improve the lighting and contrast of the image, and to add one of 14 filters similar to those found in social apps like Instagram or Snapchat. There are also basic options for rotating and cropping images.

The sharing function works when users have mobile data available and it works much like other sharing functions do. Tap the image you want to share, choose Share, then find the app you want to share the image with.

There's No Online Sync for the Gallery App

The one thing users may find it difficulty to adjust to is there's no online sync for the images managed in the Gallery Go app. That makes sense, because this app is designed for areas with limited mobile data, but if you're looking for an app that will sync your images online, this won't be the solution you need.

You can, however, transfer your images to an SD card to make them portable and to ensure that if something happens to your device your images are still saved in portable media that can be plugged in elsewhere to retrieve your images.