You may have seen some posts today around searching with an Emoji in Google Photos on Android. Although it is April Fools day, the fact is that this type of searching actually really works – today at least. Google is infamous for their elaborate and often high number of jokes on April 1st each year and when this one started up late last night, many (me included) dismissed it as a joke. Then I tried it and was shocked that it actually worked.
There is nothing special you need to do to Google Photos to get this to work nor is there a new update. This change, whether it is for today only or a permanent change, is totally on the back end at
Emoji Search in Google Photos
Google. All you need to do is go to the Photos app on your phone or tablet, tap the Search button at the bottom then tap on the search field where you would normally type in a name or location. Now switch over to your Emoji keyboard and put in one that you know represents a type of photo you have in your library. In my case, I used a cat because probably 50% of my photo library consists of Lucky the Cat. Tap the check-mark to start the search and you should see photos that are only represented by that Emoji.
It’s silly yes. But it’s kinda cool.
So the question of course is if this will work after today. I kinda hope so. It’s a fun way to search for things in your photo library although admittedly, not super practical.
Anyway, give it a go and see what you think. iPhone Users: Have you tried this in Google Photos? It should work but I would be curious to hear from someone who has tried it.
