Google Photos adds private messaging to quickly share pictures

Google is making it easier to share everyday moments quickly through Photos by adding a private messaging feature.

Earlier, to share individual photos through the app, one needed to create an album for a single photo and share the link.

Now when you share one-off photos and videos, you will have the option to add them to an ongoing, private conversation in the app.

"This gives you one place to find the moments you've shared with your friends and family and keep the conversation going," Janvi Shah, Product Manager for Google Photos, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday.

Google said this feature is not designed to replace the chat apps people already use, but it hopes to improve sharing memories with one's friends and family in Google Photos.

"You can like photos or comment in the conversation, and you can easily save these photos or videos to your own gallery," Shah said.

"This is gradually rolling out over the next week and, as always, you can share these photos with your friends and family across all platforms - Android, iOS and the web - without any loss in image quality from the photos you backed up," she said.