To turn off Google Photos Memories, open the Google Photos app, tap your profile photo, open Photos settings, then go to Preferences then Memories then Memory types. Turn off Time-based memories and Themed memories, then tap Creations and turn off each creation type. That stops featured memories from showing up in the carousel at the top of your Photos tab.
If you only want to stop certain memories, you don’t have to turn everything off. Google Photos lets you hide specific people and pets, hide dates, remove a single memory, or just silence memory notifications. Your photos stay in your library either way.
Quick Answer
- Open the Google Photos app and tap your profile photo or initial at the top.
- Tap Photos settings (on iPhone, the label may just say Settings).
- Tap Preferences, then Memories, then Memory types.
- Turn off Time-based memories and Themed memories.
- Tap Creations and turn off every creation type.
- Optional: go back to Memories, tap Notifications and turn off memory alerts.
In This Guide
- Before you start
- Turn off memories on Android
- Turn off memories on iPhone and iPad
- Turn off memories on a computer
- Turn off memory notifications only
- Hide specific people or pets
- Hide specific dates
- Remove one memory or one photo
- Which option should you use?
- Troubleshooting
- Frequently Asked Questions
Before You Start
These steps follow Google Photos Help as of September 2026 and cover the Google Photos app on Android, iPhone and iPad, plus Google Photos on a computer. Google updates the app often, so labels can vary slightly by app version.
A few terms you’ll see:
- Featured memories are the collections Google Photos picks for you and shows in a carousel (a scrolling row of cards) at the top of the Photos tab.
- Time-based memories are based on dates, such as photos from past years.
- Themed memories group photos around a theme rather than a date.
- Creations are items Google Photos makes automatically, such as animations, collages and stylized photos.
Settings are tied to your Google Account. If you use more than one account in Google Photos, make sure the profile photo at the top belongs to the account you want to change.
Turn Off Memories on Android
- Open the Google Photos app on your Android phone or tablet.
- At the top, tap your account profile photo or initial.
- Tap Photos settings.
- Tap Preferences, then Memories, then Memory types.
- Turn off Time-based memories and Themed memories. Expected result: the switches turn gray.
- Tap Creations.
- Turn off every creation type listed. Google lists them as Remix, Animations, Cinematic photos, Collages, Color Pops and Stylized photos, though your list may differ by app version.
- Also on the Memory types screen, turn off Photos shared with you if you don’t want memories built from albums other people shared.
- Go back to the Photos tab. Expected result: the featured memories carousel no longer appears at the top once no memory types are selected. It may take a short while to update.
The official steps are in Google’s Find and manage your featured memories (Android) article.
Turn Off Memories on iPhone and iPad
- Open the Google Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.
- At the top, tap your profile photo or initial.
- Tap Photos settings or Settings, depending on your app version.
- Tap Preferences, then Memories, then Memory types.
- Turn off Time-based memories and Themed memories.
- Tap Creations and turn off each creation type.
- Turn off Photos shared with you if you see it and don’t want memories from shared albums.
Google’s iPhone and iPad version of the memories help page has the same options. These settings control the Google Photos app only. They don’t affect Memories in Apple’s own Photos app, which has separate settings.
Turn Off Memories on a Computer
- Go to photos.google.com in a web browser and sign in.
- Open Settings (usually a gear icon near the top of the page).
- Expand the Memories section.
- Under the featured memories options, turn off Time-based memories and Themed memories.
- Turn off any creation types and Photos shared with you if listed.
Because these settings belong to your Google Account, a change on one device typically applies to your other devices too, though the app may need a refresh.
Turn Off Memory Notifications Only
If you like seeing memories in the app but don’t want alerts about them, change notifications instead.
- In the Google Photos app, tap your profile photo, then Photos settings.
- Tap Preferences, then Memories, then Notifications.
- Under Memories, turn off the alerts you don’t want. On Android, Google lists Time-based memories, Themed memories and Creations. Labels on iPhone can differ slightly.
You can also block all Google Photos notifications in your phone’s system settings, but that silences other alerts from the app too, such as sharing activity.
Hide Specific People or Pets
This is useful after a breakup, a loss or a falling-out, when you want memories to stop featuring someone without deleting their photos.
From settings
- Tap your profile photo, then Photos settings.
- Tap Preferences, then Memories, then Hide faces.
- Under Show less or Blocked, tap Select faces.
- Choose the people or pets to hide, then confirm (tap Done if shown).
The two levels work differently:
- Show less: you won’t get memories about that person, but they may still appear in group photos included in memories.
- Blocked: they won’t appear in memories at all, including group photos with others.
While viewing a memory
- Open a memory and swipe to a photo that shows the person.
- Tap More (the three dots) at the bottom.
- Tap More next to the person’s face, then Hide face from memories.
- Choose Show less or Block face.
Hiding a face from memories doesn’t delete any photos. If you also want certain photos out of view in your main library, see how to hide photos in Google Photos.
Hide Specific Dates
Hiding a date means photos taken on that date won’t show up in the featured memories carousel.
- Tap your profile photo, then Photos settings.
- Tap Preferences, then Memories, then Hide dates.
- Add the dates you want to hide.
You can also do it from a memory: open it, tap More, tap Hide, then choose Hide this date from all memories.
Remove One Memory or One Photo
- Open the memory from the carousel at the top of the Photos tab.
- Tap More, then Hide.
- Choose Remove this memory to hide the whole memory, or Remove this photo from this memory to drop just the photo on screen.
These options remove items from your memories only. The photos themselves remain in your library.
Which Option Should You Use?
| What you want | Best option |
|---|---|
| No memories at all | Turn off all Memory types and Creations |
| Keep memories, stop alerts | Memories, Notifications |
| Stop seeing a certain person or pet | Hide faces, Blocked |
| See a person less, not never | Hide faces, Show less |
| Avoid a painful anniversary | Hide dates |
| Get rid of one memory you saw today | More, Hide, Remove this memory |
| No memories from shared albums | Turn off Photos shared with you |
Troubleshooting
I can’t find Memories in settings
Update the Google Photos app from the Google Play Store or App Store, then look under your profile photo, Photos settings, Preferences. Older app versions may place memory settings elsewhere.
Memories still appear after I turned them off
Check that every option under Memory types and Creations is off, since the carousel shows when at least one type is on. Then close and reopen the app. Also confirm you changed the settings for the right Google Account.
I still get memory notifications
Open Preferences, Memories, Notifications and turn off each memory alert. If alerts continue, check notification settings for Google Photos in your phone’s system settings.
A hidden person still shows up
If you chose Show less, they can still appear in group photos. Switch them to Blocked to keep them out of memories entirely.
My photos aren’t backing up anymore
Memories settings don’t control backup. If backup stopped, check the backup option in Photos settings. To turn syncing off on purpose, see how to stop Google Photos from syncing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does turning off Memories delete my photos?
No. Google describes these as settings for what appears in your featured memories, and the hide and remove options work the same way. Your photos and videos stay in your library.
Can I turn Memories back on later?
Yes. Go back to Preferences, Memories, Memory types and turn the options on again.
What’s the difference between Show less and Blocked?
Show less stops memories about that person but may still include them in group photos. Blocked keeps them out of memories completely.
Do I need to change settings on every device?
Usually not, because the settings are tied to your Google Account. If a device still shows memories, check that it’s signed in to the same account.
Can I hide memories from one specific year?
You can hide specific dates in Hide dates. To stop date-based memories entirely, turn off Time-based memories.
Will this stop memories in Apple Photos on my iPhone?
No. Apple Photos is a separate app with its own settings. These steps only affect Google Photos.
Summary
- Open Google Photos and tap your profile photo.
- Go to Photos settings, Preferences, Memories, Memory types.
- Turn off Time-based memories and Themed memories.
- Turn off every item under Creations.
- Use Notifications, Hide faces or Hide dates for more targeted control.
- Remove single memories with More, Hide, Remove this memory.
Next step: if you’d rather curate your own collections than rely on automatic memories, learn how to make a Google Photos album.
Kermit Matthews is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than a decade of experience writing technology guides. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and has spent much of his professional career in IT management.
He specializes in writing content about iPhones, Android devices, Microsoft Office, and many other popular applications and devices.