Crashing Google Photos fixed with early morning update

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Google released an updated Google Photos for iOS that reportedly fixes the constant crashing that began after Apple's release of iOS 16.3.1.

The updated app is rolling out now across the App Store. Google's listing does not specify what problems have been addressed, but refers to having "fixed user-reported issues."

Social media reports initially confirmed that the update has resolved the crashing issue, which was seemingly affecting all users of Google Photos on the new iOS 16.3.1. We have since downloaded the update, and found that it fixes the problem as well.

Latest @googlephotos update fixes the issue on iOS 16.3.1

I just installed it and the app works perfectly fine for me now pic.twitter.com/3yplloOrpa
— Max Jambor (@MaxJmb) February 14, 2023

For existing users, the app was crashing immediately on launch. New users could get further, but only until the app was granted access to a user's photo library.

Google has now repeatedly acknowledged the problem on Twitter, although it continued to tell users it was working on a fix some 90 minutes after the Google Photos update was released.

It's not clear whether that is simply a miscommunication between Google departments, or whether a further update is planned.

It can take a few days for automatic updates to happen. If you're afflicted by the crashes, AppleInsider recommends a manual app update.