Google Photos Unveils Personal Year Recaps with Selfie Counter

Google Photos is rolling out a personalized Year Recap, offering a vivid, video-like summary of your year. The update adds a selfie counter, CapCut editing, and smarter photo curation to help you relive moments.

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What’s new in Google Photos Recap

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The feature creates a dynamic multimedia summary that resembles a short movie, with charts and curated photos showing highlights from your year.

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Selfie counter, privacy, and personalization

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A new selfie counter uses facial recognition to tally the selfies you took during the year. In the United States, users with Gemini features may also see highlights about notable hobbies and key moments.

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You can now hide specific people or individual images from the Recap, and after making changes you can regenerate the Recap to reflect those edits.

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Editing, quick sharing, and CapCut

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A redesigned sharing area includes short videos and collages, with an option to post a Recap directly to your WhatsApp status.

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The update adds a dedicated CapCut button. Tapping it exports the Recap to the CapCut video editor and unlocks access to exclusive Google Photos templates for fast customization.

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Availability and context

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Recaps are gradually rolling out to users and appear first in the Memories carousel, then stay in the Collections tab through December.

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Other major services have introduced year-end summaries as well, including YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music, offering a broader look at the year across apps.

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Expert note: A tech analyst says the new tools empower users to tailor memories without sacrificing privacy. The CapCut integration and quick sharing streamline how people relive their year.

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In summary, Google Photos’ Year Recap offers a customizable, shareable look at the year with a selfie counter, privacy controls, and CapCut templates. It links memories across Memories and Collections and supports direct sharing to apps like WhatsApp. This reflects a growing trend toward personalized, cross‑app year-end highlights.

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Personalized year‑end recaps that blend editing, privacy, and easy sharing turn memories into a practical, repeatable experience you’ll actually use.