Remember when Google exhibit off a cool trick that would automatically remove things like fencing or window panes from the foreground of your photos ? Originally show at Google I / O 2017 , the object - removal feature was supposed to be incorporate into Google Photos . But after expect a twelvemonth for the feature to go live , Google ’s annual dev group discussion swung ‘ polish again and object removal was still a no show . So what happen ?

According to an interview between the Google Photos squad andXDA , the sad truth behind why object removal never bump may simply be because the feature article fuck off de - prioritized and moved below other , plainly more important features in the Google Photos growth waiting line , such as some of the automobile learning enhancements built into Google Lens ( which is part of Google Photos ) .

Paraphrasing the Photos team , XDA wrote : “ While the technology is certainly available and can be deployed , the team approaches building their product by prioritize what ’s most important for masses . Hence , the Photos team prioritized other software program of machine larn above this feature . ”

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In fact , it seems that the tech behind target removal is still lurking around somewhere , and could possibly still be deployed , assuming Google ever decides it ’s worth finishing .

When aim removal was first announced , masses were affect by its ostensible ability to seamlessly remove distracting constituent from photos . It was like a smarter version of the content - aware fill feature in Photoshop , that did n’t necessitate you to go in and manually redact icon to get the desired effect — Google Photos would just do it automatically .

While it ’s certainly a bummer that one of the highlight features tease at Google I / group O 2017 never got finished , in some room , this is a good reminder that not every project make its way to completion . Some projects crash and glow from a lack of resources , while others may be too farfetched to ever come through . It ’s possible that was the case for Google Photo ’s flamboyant physical object remotion demonstration , or maybe it was simply advertise aside when the squad decided there was more crucial stuff to work on .

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

It ’s not a super exciting end to a once awe - inspiring feature , but at least now we know a picayune bit more about what bechance .

[ XDA developer ]

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William Duplessie

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