How to change the Google Photos album cover?

Google Photos is a popular photo storage and sharing service. It allows you to upload photos and videos from your device and access them from anywhere. One of the handy features of Google Photos is that it automatically organizes your media into albums based on date, location, people, and subjects.

When you open the Google Photos app or visit photos.google.com, you will see these auto-generated albums in the Albums tab with an automatically selected cover photo. However, you may want to customize which photo shows up as the album cover. Read on to find out how to change the Google Photos album cover on both mobile and desktop.

Prerequisites

Before we learn how to change the album cover photo, ensure that:

• You have the latest version of the Google Photos app installed on your Android, iOS device or are using photos.google.com on your desktop browser.
• You are logged into the Google account that contains the Google Photos library and album you want to modify.
• You have backups enabled for your Google Photos library. Changing the album cover photo is non-destructive, but backups provide an added layer of protection.
• You have permission to modify the album. The steps covered work for both albums you have created yourself and auto-generated albums.

Steps to Change Google Photos Album Cover on Mobile

Follow these steps to change the album cover photo for any album on the Google Photos app for iPhone, iPad, or Android:

1. Open the Album You Want to Modify

• Launch the Google Photos app on your device.
• Tap on the Albums tab at the bottom.
• Scroll and browse to locate the album whose cover you want to change.
• Tap on the album thumbnail to open it.

2. Tap on the three dot Menu

• This menu provides options related to the album.
• On iPhone or iPad, tap on the three-dot icon at the top-right corner.
• On Android, tap on the three vertical dots overflow menu at the top-right.

3. Select 'Choose cover'

• From the menu, choose the option named Choose cover. This will allow you to pick a new cover photo.

4. Browse and Select the New Cover Photo

• You will now see all the photos in the album laid out.
• Browse, scroll and select the photo you want as the new album cover.
• Tap on the photo to set it as the cover image.

The selected photo is now set as the new album cover. You can repeat these steps at any time to choose a different cover photo.

Steps to Change Google Photos Album Cover on Desktop

The process to change the album cover image on the desktop is very similar:

1. Open the Album in the Web Browser

• Go to photos.google.com in any web browser.

  

• If prompted, log into your Google account.
• Click on the Albums tab.
• Browse or search to find the required album.
• Click on the album thumbnail to open it.

2. Click on the 3 Dot Menu

• At the top-right of the album view, click on the More menu (3 dot icon).
• This opens a drop-down menu with album-related options.

3. Choose 'Change cover'

• From the menu, select the option named Change cover.
• This will display all photos in the album in a grid view.

4. Select the New Cover Photo

• Scroll and browse the photos in the grid layout.
• Hover over the photo you want as the new cover and click on Choose.
• This will set the selected image as the album's cover photo.

The steps are straightforward and only take a few seconds to complete. Changing the cover photo periodically can help keep your Google Photos albums fresh.

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Tips for Picking the Album Cover Image

• For special event albums, pick a photo that best represents the event like a cake cutting shot for weddings.
• Pick a photo with good lighting that highlights faces for albums with specific people like family or friends.
• Choosing a landscape orientation photo as the cover allows the entire image to be viewed without cropping.
• For location-based albums, select a photo that captures the location well like a landmark.
• Generally, photos with bright colors and defined subjects make for good album covers.
• Keep in mind the thumbnail size and pick a photo that is recognizable when scaled down.
• Stay away from picking generic shots like selfies as album covers.
• If you have an existing artistic album cover, reuse it for continuity.

Conclusion

Changing the album cover thumbnail is an easy way to spruce up your Google Photos album views. With just a couple of taps on mobile or clicks on desktop, you can set any photo in an album as its cover.

Periodically updating the album covers keeps your library fresh and organized. Just be sure to pick representative photos that capture the essence of the album when changing covers. With this knowledge, you can always have Google Photos albums with tailored cover images that make your photo archives appear well maintained.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change multiple album covers at once?

No, unfortunately Google Photos does not allow changing the album cover of multiple albums together. The change has to be done one album at a time.

Will changing the cover photo alter the contents of the album?

No, modifying the album cover only changes the thumbnail image displayed. The photos and videos contained in the album remain unchanged.

What happens to the old cover photo after changing?

The old cover photo is not deleted or modified. It simply goes back to its normal place in the album grid after you pick a new image as the cover.

Can I recover an old album cover after changing it?

As the previous cover photo is still a part of the album, you can always select it again as the cover if you want to revert to an old cover.

Is there a limit on how many times I can change an album cover?

No, there is no limit imposed by Google Photos on how many times you can change the cover photo of an album. You can modify it as often as you like.

Can I customize album covers further with text or effects?

The native Google Photos platform does not provide the ability to add text, filters, or other customizations to album covers currently. You will need to use a graphics editor to modify the photo externally before uploading.