TL;DR
- A Google Messages update will integrate your cloud photos and videos directly into the main media picker.
- This is powered by a new Android feature that lets apps embed the system’s photo picker experience.
- The change removes the extra tap needed to access your cloud library and improves security by no longer requiring broad gallery permissions.
Google Messages makes it easy to share photos and videos from your phone, but accessing your cloud library isn’t as seamless as it could be. Currently, tapping the gallery button opens a media picker showing your most recent locally stored images. To access your Google Photos library, you need to tap the “Folders” button — an extra, slightly inconvenient step. Fortunately, an upcoming Google Messages update will integrate your cloud photos and videos directly into the main media picker, removing that extra step entirely.
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