How to crop a photo on Android: Google Photos and Samsung Gallery

How to crop in Google Photos

1. 01Open the Google Photos app and open the photo.
2. 02At the bottom, tap Edit, then Crop.
3. 03Touch and hold, then drag the crop handles to the size you want.
4. 04For a set shape, tap Aspect ratio and pick one, such as square for a shop listing.
5. 05Tap the checkmark, then Save.

The other tools in Crop

• Rotate turns the photo 90 degrees.
• Straighten fixes a tilted horizon.
• Perspective corrects a photo shot at an angle, like a product photographed from above.
• Mirror flips the photo.
• Auto frame recomposes the photo and can extend the background with AI. That adds pixels that were not in the photo, so do not use it for product photos that must show the real item.

Save or Save as copy: which one to tap

• Save

  What it does

  Saves the crop to the original photo

  Can you undo it?

  Yes. Edit > Revert, or adjust the crop again later

• Save as copy

  What it does

  Makes a new photo, the original stays as it was

  Can you undo it?

  The copy cannot be undone or adjusted

So Save is not the risky option it sounds like: your edits stay adjustable, and you can return to the original at any time. Use Save as copy when you want both versions side by side, for example the full photo and a square crop for a listing. On Android 10 or lower, simple edits like a crop can only be saved as a copy, and in a shared album you did not create, Save as copy is the only option.

How to crop in the Samsung Gallery app

1. 01Open the photo in Gallery and tap the edit icon (a pencil).
2. 02Tap the crop icon.
3. 03Drag the frame, or pick a ratio.
4. 04Tap Save.

To go back, open the photo in Gallery, tap Edit, then Revert and the option to revert to the original. Samsung notes this works on selected models and software versions only, so keep a copy of anything important.

Android phones differ by brand and version. If a button has another name on your phone, look for the same icons.

Crop to the right shape for where it goes

• Most shop listings

  Pick this ratio

  Square

  Why

  Fits eBay, Shopify and Amazon. Etsy accepts it but prefers landscape 4:3

• A 4x6 print

  Pick this ratio

  3:2

  Why

  Phone photos are usually 4:3 and get trimmed at print otherwise

• A video or banner

  Pick this ratio

  16:9

  Why

  The standard widescreen shape

For prints, see how to crop a photo to 4x6 or 8x10. For shop photos at an exact pixel size, the phone tools stop short: they crop by shape, not by pixels. Crop to the shape first, then resize, as shown in how to crop a photo to a specific size.

Tips for a clean crop

• Crop once, from the original. Cropping a copy of a copy adds compression each time it is saved.
• Leave a little space around the subject. You can always crop tighter later, but you cannot add the picture back.
• To compare with the original in Google Photos, touch and hold the image preview while editing.