April 21, 2026, 06:35 PDT—Mountain View, California.
- Android users are starting to see new face touch-up features arrive in Google Photos, part of a staggered global launch.
- After picking a face, users get options to smooth skin, zap blemishes, brighten up eyes, and even whiten teeth.
- Only devices running Android 9.0 or later, and packing at least 4 GB of RAM, are included in the rollout.
Google is adding a “Touch up” menu to Google Photos, letting Android users quickly smooth skin, erase blemishes, brighten eyes, and whiten teeth right from the app’s editor. The company describes the tools as built for light adjustments. The rollout starts now and will expand worldwide in phases. Blog
This shift stands out as routine portrait tweaks push further into everyday photo libraries, leaving niche editing tools behind. And just days ago, Google linked Gemini more tightly with Google Photos to allow opt-in personalized image creation—a clear signal it’s aiming to make its photo archive a bigger player in its AI-driven editing ecosystem.
Google isn’t new to this space. Canva already has a face-retouch feature—users can just slide for more or less smoothness. Fotor? It lets people whiten teeth, with sliders for both brush size and intensity. What Google brings is convenience: those tweaks show up right where users store their own photos.
Here’s how it works: pick a face, tap on one of the options—heal, smooth, under-eyes, irises, teeth, eyebrows or lips—then slide to set the intensity. These features are landing on Android devices running Android 9.0 or later, with a minimum of 4 GB RAM.
PetaPixel notes the update pulls in terminology straight from the pro retouching world, territory usually reserved for fashion and ad shoots. Now, though, Google’s essentially boiled down those edits—like smoothing skin and whitening teeth—so anyone with a phone can do them in seconds.
Still, not everyone gets access right away. Older Android devices or those with less memory are out of luck. There’s a bigger issue, too—face-retouching features come with baggage. TechCrunch pointed out research tying frequent photo edits to things like low self-esteem, bad moods, and body-image worries.
Google’s brief update skipped any mention of an iOS launch. So far, both the company and the coverage it pointed to outline Android as the exclusive starting point, meaning iPhone users aren’t included in the debut phase.
It’s a minor feature, yet it fits squarely into Google’s push to keep users inside Photos. Each fast tweak made within the app helps cement its place at the crossroads of snapping pictures, storing them in the cloud, and sharing them out.
The real test for users? Whether the results blend in, subtle enough to feel like any routine portrait touch-up. For Google, it’s much simpler: can Photos keep people from jumping ship to another editing app?
