Google Photos 7.85 Adds Shimmer Off Switch and AI Camera Shortcut

Q: Will Google's seamless new AI camera shortcut secretly fill up your cloud storage with unwanted test shots?

Yes. Photos taken through Google Photos’ new in-app camera shortcut are saved to your Google Photos library and backed up like normal photos, so casual test shots can count against your cloud storage if backup is enabled. The new feature is mainly a convenience change. It removes the old need to leave Google Photos, open the phone’s camera, take a picture, then return to Photos to find it before using AI tools like Remix or Photo to video. But that smoother workflow does not mean the image is temporary by default. That means users experimenting with funny selfies, quick object shots, or other one-off inputs for AI edits may end up with extra images stored in their archive unless they manually delete them afterward. If they are trying to manage a tight Google storage limit, especially on the free 15GB tier, those extra captures could add up over time. The practical fix is simple: treat the shortcut camera like any other backed-up camera. After finishing the AI edit, delete the original if you do not want to keep it, and empty the trash if you need storage space back immediately. Users can also reduce future storage pressure by switching Google Photos backup quality from Original quality to Storage saver or Express, depending on their needs. So the shortcut is not secretly creating hidden files, but it is creating normal backed-up photos. The convenience is real, and so is the storage tradeoff.

3 articles · Updated · Android Authority · Jul 29

Google Photos version 7.85 is rolling out a new setting that lets users disable the app’s shimmer animation, which remains on by default.
The toggle targets a common complaint that the moving effect makes browsing and searching photos feel distracting, offering a cleaner static gallery instead.
Android users can find the control under Settings > Preferences > Photos view, though it may not appear until the app is updated to 7.85.
Google also added an in-app AI camera shortcut, letting users capture a photo and move straight into tools such as Remix and Photo to video without leaving Photos.