Google Photos' latest UI experiment has one job: getting CapCut on your phone

Google appears to be testing a range of minor tweaks in Google Photos. These include a new name for a feature that makes video editing effortless, as well as a way to gamify your Memories. Along with these, we’ve discovered another change that appears to be pushing a popular third-party video editing app.

Among these tweaks, Google seems to be pushing its love for CapCut with another shortcut in Google Photos. With version 7.83.0.943371825 of the Photos app on Android, we’ve discovered some changes to the export sheet that appears when you select multiple photos or videos from a folder view.

With this tweak, Google is adding another row of options beneath the existing ones, and the first lets you export video directly to CapCut, a video editing app from TikTok’s parent, ByteDance, for editing. If you don’t already have the app installed on your phone or tablet, you will be directed to the Play Store link.

Meanwhile, the three-dot button opens the standard Android share sheet with standard suggestions.

It’s worth noting that the feature isn’t live for users yet and is only being tested internally. We were able to activate it by tweaking the app’s package.

However, this isn’t the first or the only time Google has directed users to CapCut. Last year, we saw Google testing a prompt asking users to edit videos that show in their Memories using CapCut. Later, at the end of the year, Google rolled out the option to edit their Photos Recap in the app.

Back in May, Google announced another collaboration between CapCut and Gemini, but has yet to reveal the details.