Google Photos users have started reporting that the app’s drag-to-select gesture is no longer working on their devices. The feature, which lets people choose multiple photos at once by dragging a finger across the grid, has suddenly disappeared for a number of users. Complaints have surfaced on Reddit, with affected owners saying that while long-pressing a photo still activates multi-select mode, moving the finger now only scrolls the screen instead of selecting additional images.

What is drag-to-select in Google Photos?

Drag-to-select is one of those subtle interactions that many users take for granted until it stops working. In Google Photos, the standard way to select multiple photos is to enter the main photo grid, long-press one image, and then tap more images to add them to the selection. Drag-to-select improves on this by allowing a person to keep their finger pressed on the screen and sweep across multiple thumbnails at once. This can be significantly faster when organizing a large album, deleting a batch of screenshots, or moving a group of photos into a shared folder.

The feature has existed in Google Photos for years, and it works similarly to drag-selection in file managers and desktop operating systems. On phones, however, the gesture must be carefully implemented so that it does not conflict with scrolling, pinch-to-zoom, or other touch gestures. When the system works correctly, users can long-press a thumbnail, feel a small vibration or see a checkmark appear, and then drag their finger around the grid to select a contiguous block of photos. The selected items remain highlighted even as the finger passes over them, and releasing the finger finalizes the selection.

What users are reporting

According to recent Reddit posts, the gesture is failing for a growing number of Google Photos users. One user described the problem in detail: tapping and holding a photo still enables multi-select, but when the finger is moved, the screen scrolls up or down instead of selecting more photos. This means affected users have to go back to the slower process of tapping each photo individually, which can be tedious when dealing with dozens or hundreds of images.

Dozens of commenters have replied to say they are experiencing the same issue. The reports are not limited to one device brand or Android version. Users have confirmed the problem on Google Pixel devices, including the Pixel 9 series, as well as on several Galaxy models from Samsung and multiple OnePlus phones. This wide range of affected hardware suggests the issue is related to the Google Photos app itself rather than a device-specific setting or manufacturer customization.

One professional writer who covers Google products has also confirmed that the feature has disappeared on their phone. Meanwhile, another Reddit user says drag-to-select is still working on their tablet even though it has stopped working on their Pixel 9a. A separate report from a Pixel 6 Pro owner indicates that the feature remains available on that device. These conflicting reports point to an inconsistent rollout, which is common when an app update is gradually deployed to users or when a server-side configuration change is being tested in phases.

Is this a bug or an intentional removal?

Google frequently changes the appearance and behavior of its apps, sometimes through visible redesigns and sometimes through quiet backend tweaks. In recent months, the company has adjusted search filters, moved buttons around, and changed how some albums are displayed. Because of that history, users are often uncertain whether a missing function is a temporary bug or a deliberate decision to remove a feature that the company considers redundant.

In this case, the evidence points more strongly toward a bug rather than an intentional removal. Drag-to-select is a well-liked convenience that does not conflict with any new design language. Google has not announced that it plans to remove the gesture, and there is no obvious reason why the company would suddenly take it away from only a subset of devices. The fact that the feature still works on some devices, including tablets and the Pixel 6 Pro, further suggests that this is not a deliberate product change but rather an accidental regression that may be tied to a specific app version or a server-side flag.

Bugs like this have happened before. Google Photos has occasionally suffered from broken gestures and missing buttons after rolling out updates. In some cases, the problem resolves itself after a short time, especially if the issue is caused by a server-side rollout that gets reverted. In other cases, users have to wait for a new update from the Google Play Store to restore the missing functionality.

Key facts

• Google Photos users are reporting that drag-to-select no longer works.
• Long-pressing a photo still enables multi-select, but dragging scrolls the screen.
• The issue has been spotted on Pixel, Galaxy, and OnePlus phones.
• The feature is still working for some users on tablets and other devices.
• Google has not yet provided an official explanation.

Why drag-to-select matters for workflow

For casual users who only select a few images at a time, losing drag-to-select may be a minor inconvenience. But for people who rely on Google Photos to manage large libraries, the gesture can save a significant amount of time. Photographers, social media managers, and people who regularly clean up their camera roll often need to select large batches of images. Without drag-to-select, they must either tap every thumbnail individually or find an alternative workflow, such as using the web version of Google Photos or constantly switching between tapping and scrolling.

The issue also affects users who curate albums for special occasions, such as vacations or family events. Selecting 50 photos out of a group of 200 is much easier when you can drag across the ones you want. Having to tap each photo one by one increases the risk of accidental taps, which can lead to an unintended selection or a missed item. For accessibility, drag-to-select also offers a convenient option for people who may have difficulty making precise taps or who find repetitive tapping fatiguing.

Several users have tried simple troubleshooting steps, such as force-stopping the app, clearing the cache, and restarting their phones. However, none of these measures appear to have restored the feature. This indicates that the problem is likely not tied to corrupt local data or a temporary memory issue. Instead, it may be caused by the app’s code itself or by remote configuration settings that Google controls.

Current workarounds

While there is no confirmed fix yet, there are a few workarounds that users can try. The most obvious approach is to fall back on the traditional tap-to-select method. Long-press the first photo to enter multi-select mode, then tap each additional photo you want. This works but is slow for large batches.

Another option is to use the “Select” tool in the top menu if it is available in the current version of the app. Some versions of Google Photos have a dedicated selection mode that can be activated from the overflow menu, which may bypass the gesture issue. On tablets, drag-to-select appears to still work for some users, so affected phone owners could temporarily use a tablet to manage their photo library.

Users can also check the Google Play Store for updates to Google Photos. If the bug is caused by the latest app update, installing a newer version that contains a fix may resolve the issue. Some users have found that waiting a few hours and reopening the app is enough, suggesting that server-side changes may be slowly rolling out to the affected devices.

Google’s history with silent feature changes

Google Photos is one of the most widely used photo storage apps in the world, and Google frequently experiments with its interface. The company occasionally tests new features with small groups of users before rolling them out widely. This can lead to situations where some users see a new button or gesture while others do not. In some experiments, features are removed temporarily to measure how users react or to evaluate whether they are worth keeping.

There have also been cases where popular features were moved behind new menus or renamed, causing temporary confusion. For example, Google Photos has changed how it handles face recognition, map thumbnails, and memory creation. The app has also moved editing tools around in updates, prompting complaints from users who prefer a consistent interface.

However, removing drag-to-select as an intentional experiment would be an unusual choice because the gesture is not visually prominent and does not compete with any new UI element. It is possible that an update introduced a new gesture-handling library that accidentally broke the drag detection. It is also possible that a server-side setting intended to change scrolling behavior has clashed with the existing selection logic.

Reactions from the user community

The Reddit thread has attracted dozens of comments from users who are unhappy about the change. Many say they have cancelled syncing or put photo management tasks on hold until the issue is fixed. Some users have expressed frustration that Google keeps changing features that were already working well. Others have suggested that the company should focus its efforts on improving search, removing duplicates, and providing better editing tools rather than breaking core gestures.

A few users have noted that the issue seems more widespread than the original poster’s report, with replies arriving from different countries and on different network carriers. This supports the theory that the bug is tied to the app code itself, possibly through a staged rollout that has reached a large portion of users.

Some people have also speculated that the problem may be related to the screen resolution or display refresh rate. But because the issue appears across diverse devices, including budget and flagship models, this explanation seems unlikely. The simplest explanation is that a recent change in the Google Photos app has interfered with touch handling during multi-select mode.

Until Google acknowledges the problem and releases an update, affected users will need to adapt their workflow. The good news is that bugs like this are often fixed quickly once they gain attention. Google has a track record of responding to community complaints about Google Photos, especially when a popular feature is missing or behaving unexpectedly.

In the meantime, users can share their experience with the Google Photos help community or send feedback through the app. Reporting the bug directly to Google can help the company identify the scale of the issue and prioritize a fix. Because the feature still works on some devices, it is clear that the underlying code is not completely broken, and a targeted fix should be possible.

We have reached out to Google for comment and will update this story when more information is available.

Source: Android Authority News