Google Photos partner sharing feature missing or unable to share location data for some, but there's an easy workaround

Launched in 2015, Google Photos is one of the most famous cloud-based photo sharing and storage services used by millions worldwide. Like all other photos storage platforms, Google Photos has both free and paid plans that offer increased storage.

Earlier this year, Google announced that any photo or video uploaded after June 1 would be counted in the 15GB offered with the free tier. Moreover, they limited the video resolution to 16MP and 1080p for photos.

As is the case with any online service, users do experience some technical issues with the service like the one where the ‘Add photos’ or ‘Save photos’ to album option was missing for some.

That being said, Google Photos users are now reporting that the partner sharing feature is missing. Many said they already had the feature but it has now suddenly vanished without a trace. As it turns out, Google One subscribers are affected as well.

Users said they tried clearing data and even reinstalling the Google Photos app but it made no difference. Many were wondering if this was an issue with their device or if something is wrong on Google’s end.

Sharing with partner account is broken?
Hi,I had set up sharing photos with a partner account, and it worked fine for several years, but some days ago it stopped working. We both no longer see each other’s photos, or even that the sharing was ever set up. And I also can’t set it up again; after selecting what I want to share and pushing the “send invitation” button, an unexpected error occurs. Anyhone haveing the same issue? Or even a solution?
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Why can’t I see partner sharing of my photos any longer? I have Google one
I have Google one subscription. Before I had always automatically shared my photos with my partner. Now, I cannot even see the option in the Photos settings. Any suggestions what to do? Thanks.
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If you are affected by the same, a Diamond Product Expert on the Google community forum has shared a workaround that seems to bring back the Google Photos partner sharing feature.

Please try the following validation method and advise if Partner sharing is restored. Verify the age for your account using one of the two methods@
https://myaccount.google.com/age-verification
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And as if this wasn’t enough, some are complaining that they are unable to share location data with partner sharing. It allows users to share the location of the photo or video with others.

I’ve removed my longstanding partner sharing with my spouse and have set it up again from scratch. Location data is missing from shared photos despite the guide stating that it will be shared. As a result, shared photos are getting compressed when saved between accounts. The toggle for removing geolocation from shared links seems to have been related at one point, but I can no longer find it. Was it removed?
(Source)

All of my photos have a location from the GPS of my phone camera. I can see the location data when viewing the details of a photo. I have enabled Partner Sharing for all of my photos but the recipient cannot see the location details. In Settings I see “[Partner] can’t see where your shared photos were taken.”
(Source)

Thankfully, a user has shared a workaround that involves installing an older version of the Google Photos app since Google removed the toggle in an update.

My instinct is that if you uninstall Google Photos from your phone, and then install the old version from this mirror, you’d get the same screen as I saw, and you’d be able to disable the “Hide location” option that I’m sure is turned on.
(Source)

We hope that Google fixes the Google Photos partner sharing and location sharing issues soon so users can share their memories with their loved ones. When Google releases a fix for the same, we will update this space to reflect the same.

Note: We have more such stories in our dedicated Google Photos Section so be sure to follow them as well.

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