While Google Pixel phones are known for their superior picture quality and built-in photo tools, Samsung handsets have similar features. Thanks to these, the brand’s latest flagship, theSamsung Galaxy S24, can level with the Pixel 8 Pro. Also, Samsung’s built-in Gallery app is a suitablealternative to Google Photos. It has many features that rival or outdo Google’s premium lineup and app. Use these tips and tricks to liven up your photos and get the most out of Samsung’s handy Gallery app.

Samsung always has new features in the works. It lets you try them early. These features are accessed through Gallery Lab, which is activated using a method similar to Developer Mode in the Android operating system.

2Secure your private photos

Many people have photos with sensitive information that they want to hide from prying eyes. Samsung Gallery allows you to do so throughSamsung Secure Folder, which is easy to set upand keeps your data safe and encrypted.

When you use your Secure Folder for the first time, set it up by granting it the necessary permissions and creating a password, pattern, or PIN lock. Open your Secure Folder from your phone’s app drawer to access your hidden photos and videos.

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3Try Samsung’s Magic Eraser alternative

Sometimes, our photos show people or items we’d be happy to remove. For a long time, this was only possible if you knew how to use a photo editing app such as Adobe Photoshop. Google offers this feature through Magic Eraser, which was a Pixel-exclusive feature until it opened to Google One subscribers. Samsung released a similar feature on the Galaxy S21 series of phones in Samsung Gallery, dubbed Object Eraser.

Bid goodbye to photobombers even if you don’t own Google’s flagship

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4Give your black-and-white photos a pop of color

Another great editing tool Samsung includes in its Gallery app is spot color. This feature makes your photos black and white while keeping certain parts of the image colorized.

SelectingSavein the upper-right corner saves these edits over the original photo. To save the edits as a copy of the photo, go toMore options>Save as copy.

A Samsung Galaxy phone showing the Camera app

5View and edit Exif data

Every photo you take on your smartphone is saved in the Exif (Exchangeable image file) format. This format includes data such as date and time, location, size, and more, which you can edit.

New folders of photos, whether created by you or an app, show up as a new album in Samsung Gallery by default. Samsung allows you to hide albums and folders to keep your Gallery app uncluttered.

The photos inside an album are hidden from the gallery when you hide the album.

The Samsung Gallery app version number with the Gallery labs is enabled toast notification

7Drag and drop media between albums

If you have multiple folders or albums in Samsung Gallery, move media files between them by dragging and dropping them.

As part of its partnership with Microsoft, Samsung offers OneDrive integration in its Gallery app. If you subscribe to Microsoft 365, use your 1TB of OneDrive space to back up your photos and videos.

When this is complete, the photos and videos in your Gallery are automatically backed up and organized in OneDrive. You can search through your photos and videos in OneDrive using dates, tags, or other criteria.

The Samsung Gallery app settings page with the Gallery Labs option enabled

9Recover deleted photos and videos

Did you accidentally delete a photo or video from your Samsung phone? Samsung has you covered with its recycle bin-like functionality in its Gallery app, which gives you up to 30 days to restore your deleted media files.

10Add portrait effect to photos

it’s possible to add a portrait effect to photos after taking a photo. This feature works best with selfies, and your mileage may vary.

Taking a good selfie is harder than it looks

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Very useful, save for prompting one basic error that is encouraged by Samsung but which is definitely not in your interests if you already have a Microsoft OneDrive account. Donotlink through Gallery.Use the backup option in the OneDrive app.

Why? If you use the Samsung route it creates a separate folder in OneDrive. Which is hard to find and, no surprise, only contains photos taken on your Samsung.

Conversely, if you backup via the OneDrive app, and having more devices, on each,allphotos will go to the obvious place: Camera Roll/Skydrive.

Most will find the latter much more convenient.

It will also prompt every now and again to save space on the device by deleting cloud backed up photos from it.

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