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The Google Photos APIs enable you to build rich photo and video experiences into
your applications, allowing you to interact with the hundreds of millions of
people who choose Google Photos. We offer two powerful APIs to help you achieve
your goals:
Google Photos Picker API: Create a secure way for users to select photos
and videos from their Google Photos library through a seamless integration
with the Google Photos app.
Google Photos Library API: Upload and manage photos and albums your app
creates, all within your users' Google Photos libraries.
You can integrate with the Google Photos APIs without joining the
partner program. However, if your app is likely to exceed the general
availability quota limit, express interest
in the Google Photos
partner program.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-05-07 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Photos APIs allow you to integrate photo and video experiences into your applications using the Picker and Library APIs.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe Picker API enables users to securely select photos and videos from their Google Photos library for use in your app.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe Library API lets your app upload, manage, and organize photos and albums within users' Google Photos libraries.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUsers must be signed in to a Google Account to utilize these APIs, as service accounts are not supported.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eDevelopers should review API usage policies, UX guidelines, and quota limits before building applications with the Google Photos APIs.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Google Photos offers two APIs: the Picker API, which allows users to select media from their Google Photos library for sharing with your app, and the Library API, which lets your app upload and manage content within a user's Google Photos library. Both utilize OAuth 2.0 for authorization. Developers can enable these APIs, manage media items and albums, and explore them via API Explorer and code samples. Review user data policies and UX guidelines before development. A partner program is available for high-volume apps.\n"],null,["The Google Photos APIs enable you to build rich photo and video experiences into\nyour applications, allowing you to interact with the hundreds of millions of\npeople who choose Google Photos. We offer two powerful APIs to help you achieve\nyour goals:\n\n- **Google Photos Picker API:** Create a secure way for users to select photos and videos from their Google Photos library through a seamless integration with the Google Photos app.\n- **Google Photos Library API:** Upload and manage photos and albums your app creates, all within your users' Google Photos libraries.\n\nGet started by [enabling one (or more) of the APIs and configuring your\napp](/photos/overview/configure-your-app).\n\nKey concepts\n\n**Library:** This represents the collection of media items stored in the user's\nGoogle Photos account.\n\n- The Picker API lets [users select media items from their\n library](/photos/picker/guides/sessions) to share with your app.\n- The Library API lets you [manage content within the user's\n library](/photos/library/guides/list) that was created by your app.\n\n**Albums:** These are collections of media items within a user's library, which\ncan be shared with other users.\n\n- The Library API lets you to [create and manage\n albums](/photos/library/guides/manage-albums) created by your app.\n\n**Media items:** These include photos, videos, and their associated metadata.\n\n- Picker API:\n - The Picker API returns [PickedMediaItem](/photos/picker/reference/rest/v1/mediaItems) objects representing the media items selected by the user.\n - Learn more about [listing and retrieving media\n items](/photos/picker/guides/media-items) with the Picker API.\n- Library API:\n - The Library API works with [MediaItem](/photos/library/reference/rest/v1/mediaItems) objects representing media items uploaded or created by your app.\n - Learn more about [working with media items](/photos/library/guides/list) with the Library API.\n\nAuthorization\n\nLike other Google REST APIs, the Google Photos APIs use [OAuth\n2.0](/identity/protocols/OAuth2) to handle authorization.\n| **Note:** The Google Photos APIs don't support service accounts. To use these APIs, users must be signed in to a valid Google Account.\n\nUsing the Google Photos APIs\n\nBefore you get started on your app development, review the following documents:\n\n- [Photos API User Data and Developer Policy](/photos/support/api-policy)\n- [UX guidelines](/photos/support/ux-guidelines) for designing your app\n- The Google Photos APIs [limits and quotas](/photos/overview/api-limits-quotas)\n\nExplore the APIs\n\nThere are multiple ways to try out the APIs.\n\nTry out the APIs without writing any code using the API Explorer available in\nthe reference documentation.\n\n- [Try creating a session with the Picker API](/photos/picker/reference/rest/v1/sessions/create)\n- [Try creating an album with the Library API](/photos/library/reference/rest/v1/albums/create)\n\nExplore our code samples demonstrating key features and use cases.\n\n- [Picker API samples](/photos/picker/samples)\n- [Library API samples](/photos/library/samples)\n\nPartner program\n\nYou can integrate with the Google Photos APIs without joining the\npartner program. However, if your app is likely to exceed the general\navailability [quota limit](/photos/overview/api-limits-quotas), express interest\nin the [Google Photos\npartner program](/photos/partner-program).\n\nLearn more\n\n[Configure your app](/photos/overview/configure-your-app): set up your project\nand try out a sample.\n\nGuides: the how-to guides and concepts around using the Google Photos APIs.\n\n- [Picker API guides](/photos/picker/guides/get-started-picker)\n- [Library API guides](/photos/library/guides/get-started-library)\n\nReference docs: the API reference documentation\n\n- [Picker API reference documentation](/photos/picker/reference/rest)\n- [Library API reference documentation](/photos/library/reference/rest)\n\n[Support](/photos/support/how-to-get-help): the support options for requesting\nhelp or giving feedback."]]
