Google Photos could soon let you take a shortcut straight to your favorite media

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When Google replaced the classic Library view with the updated Collections tab, it promised a cleaner way to organize media. However, the top of the screen has remained largely rigid, with Google automatically and unilaterally deciding which shortcuts to highlight while burying your most-used folders. While Google has been testing a cleaner layout for the Collections tab with collapsible sections, the latest app update reveals an unreleased “Pinned” feature in the works that could potentially let you anchor your favorite albums, faces, and folders to the top of the tab.

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In Google Photos version 7.90, we managed to manually enable this upcoming functionality, and it feels surprisingly complete. The current Collections tab relies on fixed tiles and auto-generated grids that force you to dig through submenus to access local storage or specific trips. This experimental Pinned section appears aimed at changing that dynamic, potentially giving users direct control over what sits front and center when opening the app.

In our hands-on testing ahead of its release, the feature appears to function as expected. While browsing through the Collections tab, long-pressing on almost any item brings up a floating Pin option. Whether it is a local device folder like Movies or a specialized sub-category like Stickers under Other collections, tapping this option appears to anchor that shortcut to a new, horizontally scrollable Pinned row positioned at the very top of your feed.

Google also seems to be building a dedicated management interface to keep those shortcuts organized. This builds right on top of recent evidence that Google may be working to let users customize the order of items in Collections . Tapping the Edit button next to the Pinned header opens a full bottom sheet where you can drag handles to change the display order of your pinned items or unpin shortcuts you no longer need.

Below your active pins, the management sheet divides your entire library into neat collapsible categories, including Albums, On this device, People & pets, Places, Documents, and Other collections. Selecting any category displays a complete list of matching items with one-tap Pin buttons, which could allow you to quickly select shortcuts without hunting through separate app menus.

By shifting navigation control back to the user instead of relying on automated suggestions, this feature would represent a major usability upgrade for Google Photos — assuming it ever reaches public release. While unreleased features like this can always be modified, delayed, or scrapped before launch, its implementation in the current build appears polished enough to suggest an official rollout might be on the horizon.