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You know you ’ve made it as a inauguration when the Big Tech fellowship pop out ripping you off . That come along to be the pillow slip withRetro , the popularphoto - sharing appthat ’s gained a chase among those who appreciate the ability to apportion picture and videos more privately with friends and kinsfolk . The company was of late capture off safety by apost on X(formerly Twitter ) , which offers a first look at a new Google Photos feature call “ My Week . ” Unfortunately for Retro , the feature of speech looks a lot like its own app for photo - sharing , as it also further users to take photograph to document their days , which are then showcased in a calendar week - by - week format .
Retro Colorado - founder and CTO Ryan Olsonreshared the postcirculating on X with a comment , “ feel like I ’ve seen this somewhere … ” along with the inquisitiveface with a monocle emoji .
🧐 find like I ’ve watch this somewhere … https://t.co / GjRFBsIwfb
According to its findings , Google Photos will bestow a new “ Introducing My calendar week ” roofing tile to its existing Memories roundabout , which will admit a setup superstar that helps the great unwashed select the photos from their workweek that they want to share . user can also invite others to view their weekly memories , interchangeable to how Retro permit hoi polloi invite friends to its app for the same intent .
After setup is over , the photos selected by the Google Photos exploiter will show up in a consecrated card in the Memories carousel , the blog said . user can also knock on the card to add more photos , reckon those shared in previous weeks , and message their contacts .
In other words , Google has taken much of the Retro app experience and grow it into a feature to add to its larger Google Photos mathematical product .
Reached for gossip , Google did n’t speak to the similarity between its My Week feature of speech and Retro , but it did confirm that My Week was something the company was try out with in an invite - only way . “ We ’re always experimenting with new fashion to help the great unwashed reflect and share their remembering with the people that weigh most to them , ” Google spokesperson Michael Marconi said . “ We ’re look forward to getting feedback on My hebdomad but do n’t have anything else to partake on future availability . ”
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Retro CEO Nathan Sharp is n’t occupy just yet about Google ’s design to simulate his app ’s experience , despite the numerous law of similarity . However , he take down that in addition to making the drug user ’s week the main unit for the pic daybook , Google Photos ’ designing also attend a lot like Retro . Like his app , the Google Photos journal is displayed in a horizontal “ filmstrip”-style formatting , with rounded corner on the outside .
Still , Sharp said , Google ’s production is not yet public and could change .
“ We ’ve work on indoors of openhanded companies as well , and we know there ’s a lot of testing going on inside , and oftentimes those are approximative and they change dramatically before they send , ” Sharp said . Before building Retro , he and Olson — the co - founder of Retro ’s parent caller , Lone Palm Labs — had worked together at Instagram and they infer what it ’s wish to be on the other side of thing .
“ At first , when you see this , it does make you a little furious , because it seems like some thing are lifted one to one . But … this is n’t what they ’re shipping , ” he explain . “ They are n’t asking to be judged on what ’s on Twitter today . So I have to kind of step back and say , this is probably a squad in progress . ”
If the characteristic does ship , Sharp says he wo n’t lowball Google ’s electric potential to contend in his outer space — and “ potentially with the same exact designs . ” But he does cerebrate Retro users may appreciate that the app serves a specific purpose — that is , one that ’s consecrate to catching up with friends and family unit .
That , he allege , is very different from an app you use to lay in “ every single picture and screenshot you ’ve ever had , ” as well as edit those , and free up store blank on your phone , which are the master use cases for Google Photos .
“ One of the thing with Retro is that we have a unequalled glide slope — both to the Cartesian product but also the ethos of thing , ” Sharp tell . “ On Retro , your photo are improbably private . We do n’t sell or rent our exploiter data to anybody . We are n’t an ad - push simulation . We do n’t have a public provender of people that are trying to build audiences , so you do n’t run into distraction outside of kinsfolk and friends . We do n’t train AI model on any of your photos . I think the simplicity and the focus of that still helps us differentiate from any kind of bounteous multi - use case app . ”
Retro persist in to drive out new features to provide to this audience as well . It launchedcollaborative journalsand the power to send photo postcards right away in the app , even if you do n’t make love your champion ’s reference . Instead , the app will merely prompt the booster to enter their address to receive the postcard , but the address itself remains individual . Plus , on Android , users can now send postcards directly from the camera whorl itself . ( And because Retro has n’t yet build out the defrayal flow , the feature film is detached to use . )
The startup is also working to bring its widget to Io , which would allow substance abuser to customize their iPhone ’s Home Screen , and it ’s explicate a feature to enable direct sharing with “ keyholders , ” or citizenry who ’ve been given admittance to a user ’s entire photo archive , not just photos from the past month .
Eventually , Retro will look to monetize by offering a premium subscription , but nothing has rolled out on that front as of yet .
