Glossary
The terms you'll meet when cleaning a phone gallery, in plain English.
- AI judge model
- An AI model that rates content the way a careful person would. In photo cleanup, it scores each photo for sharpness, exposure, framing and content type, and those scores decide what is kept. Learn more
- Best shot
- The single photo kept from a group of similar shots of the same moment, chosen for sharpness, exposure, framing and the clearest moment. Learn more
- Burst photos
- Several photos taken in quick succession, either with burst mode or by tapping the shutter repeatedly. Usually only one is worth keeping. Learn more
- Exact duplicate
- The same image stored more than once, for example after receiving it in two WhatsApp groups or copying a folder. Safe to remove as long as one copy is kept. Learn more
- Forwarded many times
- A WhatsApp label for a message that has been forwarded through a chain of five or more chats. WhatsApp's Manage storage can filter by it. Learn more
- Free up space (Google Photos)
- A Google Photos action that deletes phone copies of photos and videos already backed up. The cloud copy stays, so Google storage is unchanged. Learn more
- Good-morning image
- A greeting image, often flowers or a sunrise with text, shared daily in WhatsApp and other family group chats. A major source of gallery clutter. Learn more
- Google One
- Google's paid storage plan. Every Google Account gets 15 GB free, shared by Gmail, Drive and Photos; Google One adds more. Learn more
- Media auto-download
- A WhatsApp setting that downloads photos, videos and documents automatically on mobile data, Wi-Fi or roaming. Turning it off stops new media from using space unless you tap it. Learn more
- Media visibility
- A WhatsApp setting that controls whether downloaded media appears in the phone's gallery. Turning it off hides media but does not save space. Learn more
- Near-duplicate (similar photo)
- A different photo of the same moment, such as two shots of one pose seconds apart. Duplicate finders that compare files miss these. Learn more
- One-time pack
- A pricing model where you pay once for a pack of photos scanned instead of a recurring subscription. Nothing renews. Learn more
- Pocket shot
- An accidental photo taken while a phone is in a pocket or bag or being unlocked. Usually black, blurred fabric or fingers. Learn more
- Protected photo
- A photo excluded from every clean, either automatically (IDs, documents, receipts) or because you marked it. Learn more
- Scoped storage
- Android's file-access model since Android 10/11 that limits which files an app can reach and asks the user to confirm deletes of media the app did not create. Learn more
- Storage saver
- A Google Photos backup quality that compresses photos to save space. Since June 2021 it counts toward your Google storage like Original quality. Learn more
- Trash (Android)
- Android's own trash (Android 11 and later), where deleted photos wait before permanent deletion, so a clean can be reversed for a while. They still use storage until the trash is emptied. Learn more