Android Guide: Effortlessly Rotate Images in Google Photos
In this easy-to-follow guide, we'll show you how to rotate photos in Google Photos on your Android device. The steps provided have been verified by our Tech Team and have been viewed over 131,964 times.
Steps to Rotate Photos in Google Photos
- Open the Google Photos app on your Android device. You can find the multicoloured pinwheel icon labeled "Photos" in the app drawer or on the home screen.
- Tap the photo you want to rotate.
- At the bottom of the screen, tap the "Edit" button.
- Tap the "Crop" option in the editing menu.
- Tap the "Rotate" icon to rotate the photo 90 degrees. You can tap it multiple times to rotate as needed.
- When finished, tap the checkmark or "Save" to apply and save your changes.
This process allows you to easily rotate your photo by increments of 90 degrees. The editing interface may show the rotate, crop, and flip controls above the image for easier access in the latest Google Photos versions.
Additional Tips
- To save a rotated or flipped version as well as the original, tap "⋮ > Save as copy".
- If your Android's camera is taking pictures in the wrong orientation, you may be able to solve this by downloading a third-party camera app with an orientation lock feature.
- Google Photos has automated features to enhance your pictures quickly and easily without fiddling with settings. You can tap the "Edit" icon, then tap Enhance, Dynamic, or Boost to apply premade settings that enhance your image differently.
- If you don't have Google Photos, you can use your default photo editing app to rotate or flip a photo.
Please note that the rotate feature rotates in 90-degree steps only, with no arbitrary angle rotation available in Google Photos itself. For more advanced rotation or straightening, separate apps like Lightroom may be used.
This method works for the current Google Photos app on Android as of mid-2025.
Our Technology Writer and Editor, Nicole Levine, MFA, has compiled this guide. Nicole Levine holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions.
- For those seeking to enhance their home-and-garden aesthetic, smartphone gadgets like the Google Photos app can help in rotating images to match picture frames or when showcasing decorative pieces in the home.
- Home-lifestyle bloggers and vloggers will find the rotate feature in Google Photos a valuable tool, ensuring their photos are presentation-ready when uploading to their online platforms.
- The seemingly small feature of photo rotation through the Google Photos app can significantly impact a user's technology-driven lifestyle by saving time and effort in manipulating images before sharing them.
