The default date-based structure adopted by Google Photos and many on-device galleries inadvertently encourages me to search for media using its date taken. I know using the Search or Ask feature to find photos and videos by keywords is more effective and tech-savvy, yet scrolling through the timeline has become ingrained in my habit. That is, until I recently realized that my old screenshots and expired QR codes made it more challenging than ever to locate a 2023 photo to set as my wallpaper.
Retrieving an old photo shouldn’t be that cumbersome. A clean timeline should make searching easier and lighten the pressure on my Google Photos storage. With that in mind, I decided to roll up my sleeves to clean it up and automate some necessary processes.