Google Photos on Android just got an iPhone feature I've waited a year for — how to use it now

In May 2025, the Google Photos app got an incredible feature: the ability to manually create photo stacks. Google Photos has long automatically created stacks of similar-looking pictures, helping to better organize your library. However, that automated process doesn’t always work as you’d like, leaving your Photos library more chaotic than you’d prefer.

Manual stacking fixes that issue perfectly — but there’s been just one problem: it’s been exclusive to the Photos app on iOS. There’s been evidence of manual stacking coming to the Android app for a while, but month after month, it’s remained MIA.

However, after over a year of not-so-patiently waiting, that’s finally changed — and I couldn’t be happier.

What do you need to access manual photo stacks on Google Photos?

As is always the case with Google app updates, an important question arises: What do you need to access this new feature?

I first noticed the option for manual photo stacking in the Photos app on my Pixel 11 Pro running version 7.90.0.973970263. Manual stacking also appeared on my Pixel 11 Pro XL, with its Photos app on version 7.91.0.973540846.

Interestingly, manual stacking is not currently available on my Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra running the Photos app on version 7.90.0.971743778. As is often the case with Google, it’s likely that manual stacking is part of a server-side rollout. Be sure to check the Play Store for any updates to Google Photos, but if none are available and you still don’t see manual stacking on your app, you may just need to play the waiting game.

How to create manual stacks in the Photos Android app

Creating photo stacks in the Google Photos Android app follows the exact same steps as in the iOS app, which is to say, it’s extremely easy. To create a manual photo stack:

1. Press and hold on the pictures you want to stack.
2. Swipe left on the pop-up bar at the bottom of the screen.
3. Tap Stack photos.

As soon as you do this, those selected photos are grouped into a single stack in your Photos library. For example, if you selected five standalone images from your camera roll, they are now grouped into a single icon in your main library. When you open the stack, you can scroll through all of the stacked photos from there.

The actual process of manually creating photo stacks is extremely simple, but with no official announcement from Google that the feature is finally available in the Android app, it’s very easy to overlook.

Automatic stacking will still happen like it always has, but you now have the option to manually organize things, too. It may sound like a small feature, but as someone who’s been creating manual stacks in the iOS app since last year, it’s genuinely one of my favorite organization tools in Google Photos.