During the recent Made by Google event, we got our first official look at many of the features coming to the Pixel 9 series, from Satellite SOS to Add Me. One of the standouts, though, was Pixel Screenshots, an app that aims to “help you save, organize, and recall information” collected on the smartphone.
To explain how it works, let’s say you’re looking to update your wardrobe and find a nice pair of sneakers online. You take a screenshot of them and the app analyzes the image and places it into a digital library.
From there, you can add a note to it for future reminders or save whatever screenshot you just took into a collection. These groups appear on the homepage of the Screenshots app for easy access.
How many forgotten screenshots are on your phone? 😬 Pixel Screenshots will help you save, organize and recall them by analyzing the photos to make them searchable. This feature will run on #Pixel9 devices with the help of Gemini Nano and Tensor G4. #MadeByGoogle pic.twitter.com/yXR4sRLTHmAugust 13, 2024
Robust organizing
The app even houses its own mini search engine to help you navigate the library. Gemini Nano has been integrated into the software, allowing Screenshots to understand “complex queries.” In the live demo, Google offers the example of a user typing “T-Shirt price” to locate an image of a shirt with the price tag in view.
What’s great is that the app also saves the URL inside an entry as below the main picture is a Chrome link to the source website. You no longer have to keep the tab open forever.
Look down further, and it appears Gemini creates a short overview list of a product. If it’s a shirt, the accompanying text tells you the item’s name, its brand, where it was printed, and, interestingly enough, a brief description. It also appears users can share these entries with others and set up alerts for later viewing.
Analysis: Safety first
If any of this sounds familiar, that’s because Pixel Screenshots functions similarly to the highly controversial Microsoft Recall. Think about it: you’re essentially feeding an AI a constant stream of screenshots displaying your internet history. That may sound scary on the surface, although the two have a major difference.
Google’s tech doesn’t operate or record automatically. You have to give the app screenshots manually. It’s a straightforward change that goes a long way in ensuring user privacy. There is no need to fear potential keylogging, which was a concern with Microsoft’s tech.
Pixel Screenshots is shaping itself up to be the next evolution for note-taking apps. It offers an incredibly convenient way to organize chaotic internet browsing. Hopefully, it means that image folders no longer have to be a total mess, thanks to Gemini doing all the work.
There is still a lot we don’t know about the software, like what kind of security measures are on board. The Tensor G4 chipset probably has data protection onboard, but how long do snapshots stay saved? Indefinitely? Or are old pictures deleted after a while?
We would also love to know if there are plans to roll out Pixel Screenshots to older models. At the time of this writing, it’s exclusive to the Pixel 9 series.
Be sure to check out TechRadar’s list of the top seven things we saw and learned at Made by Google.