The Google Photos app has changed a lot over the past several years. Over that time, we’ve seen the app’s image-editing interface improve significantly with the addition of new tools. However, it looks like one pesky bug has slipped past Google in recent updates.
According to a Google Photos user on Reddit, the app refuses to share a picture with other apps just after it’s edited. They reportedly have to open the image in Photos and then tap Share to send it through other apps. It seems that other apps simply don’t see the edited image to begin with, which can understandably be an issue if you’re uploading multiple edited pictures to your social media accounts.
The user adds that they’ve seen this issue on their Pixel 9 Pro, and it has since carried over to the recently released Pixel 11 Pro. But that’s not the extent of the issues this particular Pixel owner has experienced with the Photos app.
They also report that the Share button is unresponsive after cropping or rotating an image. Lastly, the user mentions an issue where the app saves a copy of the image, even if they didn’t opt for one after finishing the edit. We’re seeing reports from a handful of Pixel owners in the comments, so it’s clearly not limited to just one person.
Google is aware of the problem, but there’s no fix in sight
Separately, a Pixel 11 Pro XL user shared a screen recording showing that the bottom-row buttons (Share, Edit, Add to, and Bin) remain unresponsive after cropping an image.
A Google support representative responded with possible remedies, including clearing the cache, uninstalling and reinstalling the Photos app, and rebooting the Pixel phone into safe mode. However, neither solution helped, per the user.
We’re seeing a growing number of users reporting the same issue in the comments, which suggests this bug is affecting a substantial segment of Pixel owners. I tried to replicate the crop/rotate bug on my Pixel 6a, but all the bottom row buttons appeared to work as they should. That doesn’t mean the problem doesn’t exist, but it makes the root cause harder to identify.
Are you witnessing unresponsiveness in the Google Photos app after editing an image? Let us know in the comments below.