Google Photos has changed how it estimates location on images without geodata

Google Photos has long been able to estimate the location of pictures that don’t contain geodata. It previously did this using Google Account Location History but has since stopped and is giving users the ability to remove those estimates.

Previously, Google Photos estimated missing locations by using your broader Location History, which is an “opt-in Google account setting that saves where you go with your devices so you can enjoy personalized maps, recommendations and more.” Another way the backup service did this was by recognizing visible landmarks in pictures. 

Google Photos has stopped using Location History to estimate locations for new photos and videos. Instead, the company is “investing more heavily in our ability to identify landmarks.” (Its work on Google Lens, Maps Live View, and VPS comes to mind.)

To help you search and organize your photos and videos, Google Photos can use locations such as those saved from your device’s camera, those you add manually or those estimated using inputs such as visible landmarks and Location History. We’re investing more heavily in our ability to identify landmarks, and we’ll no longer use Location History to estimate locations for new and existing photos moving forward. You can easily manage your location settings at any time right from Google Photos.

— Google spokesperson

As a result of this change, Google is giving users the ability to remove all estimated photo locations, including those derived from Location History and landmarks. Over the coming months, you will see an in-app prompt that lets you “keep” or “delete” estimates. You’ll have until May 1, 2023 to make a decision, or Google will remove them automatically. 

However, if you have “Estimate missing locations” enabled in Google Photos settings (Location > Location sources) after choosing to purge all estimated locations, Google will re-estimate all missing locations without Location History using just landmarks. You can also “View and manage estimated locations” from that screen through a gallery and map view. 

No photos are being deleted as part of this, nor will there be any changes to Location History. 

Going forward, if you want to delete estimated locations from your photos, you can only do that in Google Photos. If you want to delete locations from your Location History, you may continue to do that within your Location History settings.