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In his second How To and troubleshooting video in as many weeks, Google Photos Top Contributor Scott Peachey has put together a great video outlining the various steps you can take when you can’t find photos in Google Photos.  The 8:30 video covers a wide range of things to investigate and research on your device if you can’t find some photos or if you can’t find any photos.  Even if you have not had the issue yourself, it is well worth watching this video so you can avoid some of the pitfalls that Scott and other contributors, me included, see often in the forums.

The Chromium team has released Chrome 49 for those who use the browser on Windows, Mac and Linux.  The update, build 49.0.2623.75 for those keeping score at home, brings a long list of bug fixes and security improvements to the browser.  It is highly recommend that if you are using the browser on your PC that you update as soon as possible.  Updating can be doing by going to chrome://help and letting it automatically update for you.  You’ll have to restart your browser once it is done but otherwise it is pretty straight forward.

Google has begun a limited roll out of their new apps and service, Hands Free.  The testing area is limited to a select number of retailers and for those who live or work in the South Bay area, just south of San Francisco, California.  Generally it covers Mountain View, Sunnyvale, San Jose and Palo Alto.  The idea, as the name suggests, is that you can complete a purchase completely hands free – no phone or smartwatch in your hand or on your wrist required.  The app utilizes Bluetooth to communicate between the point-of-sale terminal and your phone in your pocket.

For you Android users of Google Photos, there is a new update rolling out to the Google Play Store that brings a lot of nice UI tweaks.  The update you are looking for is version 1.15 for those keeping score at home and it should be coming to you via an OTA update (if you have it installed) over the course of the next day or two.  Once you get the update, you are going to see some of the changes immediately.  First, on the Assistant page, you will see a new Create New scroll bar at the top.  This puts things like creating an Album, Collage, Animation or Movie a tap away.  In previous builds these were off of the menu and a few taps away.