I take a lot of photos. Since I’m traveling quite a bit, my camera is constantly pointed at something interesting. And yes, I take plenty of selfies too. It’s great because I end up with a gallery full of memories, but it also means I have a growing pile of photos that need a little cleanup before I’m happy to share them. The thing is, I’m not someone who spends hours perfecting every shot. Most of my edits are pretty simple: removing a random person, touching up a few details, or brightening a photo that came out a little dull. That’s about it.
Apps like Snapseed and Adobe Lightroom are fantastic if you’re serious about photo editing, but I’ve realized they’re a bit more than I actually need. For quick, everyday fixes, I almost always reach for the editing tools built into my Pixel 10 Pro instead. Using this feature for a while made me realize I wasn’t opening my editing apps anymore. Eventually, I deleted them altogether.
Turns out, my Pixel likes tidying up
Bye-bye, random uncle in the background
Pixel’s Magic Eraser isn’t exactly a new feature. In fact, it’s one of those features you’ve probably heard about countless times. I had too, but I never really gave it much attention because I assumed dedicated editing apps would always do a better job.
Now, Magic Eraser has become my go-to tool. If a stranger is walking in the background of a vacation photo, a random car parked where it shouldn’t be, or someone accidentally photobombed a selfie, I can usually get rid of them with a couple of taps. The best part is that I rarely have to tell it what to remove. It automatically highlights people and distracting objects it thinks don’t belong, so I spend less time zooming in, tracing outlines, or trying to make a precise selection.
Sometimes, though, deleting something completely isn’t the best option. That’s where the Pixel’s other editing trick comes in handy. Instead of removing an object altogether, it can subtly tone down its colors so it blends into the background naturally. A bright red sign, a colorful trash bin, or another distracting object stops stealing your attention. At the same time, the person or subject you actually wanted to capture remains the center of the photo.
A minute well spent
Tap, erase, and pretend it never happened
If you’ve never given Magic Eraser a shot, I’d genuinely recommend trying it. Here’s how to use it:
- Open the Google Photos app on your Pixel.
- Pick the photo you’d like to edit.
- Tap Edit at the bottom of the screen.
- Scroll through the Action editing tools and select Magic Eraser.
- Give it a moment to analyze the image. It’ll automatically highlight people, objects, or other distractions it thinks you might want to remove.
- Tap one of the suggested highlights to erase it, or manually circle or brush over anything you’d like to get rid of.
- When you’re happy with the result, tap Done, then Save copy to keep the edited version alongside the original.
That’s all there is to it. The entire process usually takes less than a minute.
Yes, Magic Eraser is easily the editing tool I use the most, but it’s far from the only one I’ve come to rely on. Now and then, I find myself experimenting with features like Magic Editor, Help Me Edit, Best Take, Add Me, and Photo Unblur or Face Unblur. Each one solves a different problem.
The best part is that I don’t have to jump between different apps to use them anymore. They’re all tucked away in the same editing menu inside Google Photos, so if one tool isn’t quite right for the job, another is only a tap away. Whether I’m fixing a blurry selfie, swapping in a better facial expression from another shot, adding myself to a group photo I took, or reimagining a picture with Magic Editor, everything happens in one place. So, at least for me, Google’s built-in tools have completely changed the way I clean up, improve, and even reinvent my photos.
The best download was no download
Using these Pixel editing tools has completely changed the way I handle my photos. In fact, they’ve worked so well for the everyday needs that I ended up deleting all the editing apps from my phone. That said, everyone’s workflow is different, and what works for me may not work for you. If you enjoy having more control or like diving deeper into photo editing, apps like Snapseed, Adobe Lightroom, and Canva are still excellent choices. I’ve personally used Snapseed on my iPhone, and it’s fantastic if you want a little more flexibility without feeling overwhelmed.
So, will I ever go back to dedicated editing apps? Maybe. My needs could change, and if they do, I won’t hesitate to install one again. But right now, every photo I edit starts in Google Photos and almost always ends there. And honestly, I don’t miss those extra apps one bit.
