Most of us click hundreds, sometimes thousands, of photos every year. They sit quietly in our phones, rarely revisited once the moment passes. Google Photos is now trying to change that habit. With its new 2025 Recap feature, Google uses AI to turn your scattered photos and videos into a meaningful highlight reel. No manual editing. No hours spent trimming clips. Just a ready-made memory video that you can tweak if you want.
How Does It Work?
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You will get a notification in the Google Photos app when your 2025 recap is ready. The video shows up in the Memories section at the top of the app. That’s where you normally see your daily memories and older photos that pop up.
Google AI looks through your photos from the entire year and picks out the best ones. It chooses based on image quality, who is in the photos, and what moments seem important. But you are not stuck with what it picks.
If there are people in the photos you don’t want in the video, just hide them and make it generate a new version. Maybe there is an ex you would rather forget or an awkward photo you hate. Remove it and regenerate. You can do this as many times as you want.
Editing Options
Google knows everyone wants different things from their recap, so it has added editing options for different skill levels.
Quick Editing Tools
The basic editing tools let you hide specific photos or people before regenerating the video. It is fast and simple. You don’t need any video editing experience to use these.
Advanced Editing With CapCut
Want more control? Google added CapCut integration for people who like to get creative. CapCut is a video editing app with professional tools. You can use it to add:
- Custom transitions
- Different music
- Filters and effects
- Text and captions
- Better timing between clips
Casual users get a great video with minimal effort. Creative users can dive into the finer details and make something really polished.
Sharing Your Recap
Once your video is done, sharing is straightforward. You can send it directly to:
- Social media like Instagram, Facebook, and X
- Messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Messenger
- Email for family and friends
Google also lets you turn your highlights into photo books or collages. These are physical items you can hold, place on a shelf, or gift to someone. Sometimes it’s nice to have printed memories instead of everything staying on a screen.
What Do You Need To Get Started?
Before you can use the 2025 recap, check these three things.
Enable Backup
Your photos need to be backed up to Google Photos. Without backup, the AI can’t see your photos to make the recap. Open Google Photos, go to settings, and make sure backup is turned on.
Turn On Face Groups
This setting lets Google Photos recognise people in your photos. The AI uses this to make sure important people show up in your recap. Turn it on in settings under preferences.
Update Your App
Make sure you have the latest version of Google Photos. New versions include bug fixes and improvements that make the recap work better. Check your App Store for updates.
Conclusion
Honestly, this feature is genuinely useful. I have hundreds of photos from this year alone that I have never revisited. Having something that automatically turns them into a decent video saves a lot of time. The ability to customise it matters too, because AI doesn’t always get it right. Sometimes it picks weird photos or includes people you no longer want to see.
The CapCut integration is a smart move. Regular users get a ready-to-share video instantly, while those who care about details can fine-tune everything. It strikes a good balance between simplicity and control.
Overall, this makes Google Photos feel more like a memory tool instead of just a storage app. If other platforms copy this idea, even better. Competition always pushes products to improve faster.
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