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Home Widgets ​

Ente Photos offers home screen widgets that display your photos directly on your phone's home screen. Widgets automatically refresh with new photos from your library, bringing your memories to life throughout the day.

Note: Home widgets are available on mobile apps only (iOS and Android).

Widget Types ​

Ente provides three types of home screen widgets:

Memories Widget ​

Displays photos from your memories, including:

  • On This Day: Photos from the same date in previous years
  • Past Years: Memories from past years
  • Smart Memories: AI-curated memorable moments

The Memories widget automatically rotates through your memories, surfacing nostalgic moments right on your home screen.

Albums Widget ​

Shows photos from your selected albums. By default, it displays photos from your Favorites album, but you can customize which albums to include.

People Widget ​

Displays photos featuring selected people from your library. This widget helps you keep photos of your loved ones front and center.

Requirement: The People widget requires face recognition to be enabled. You must first enable machine learning and allow face recognition to detect and group people in your photos.

Adding Widgets to Your Home Screen ​

On iOS ​

  1. Long press on your home screen until apps start jiggling
  2. Tap the + button in the top left corner
  3. Search for "Ente" or scroll to find Ente Photos
  4. Choose the widget type (Memories, Albums, or People)
  5. Select your preferred widget size
  6. Tap Add Widget
  7. Position the widget and tap Done

On Android ​

  1. Long press on an empty area of your home screen
  2. Tap Widgets
  3. Find and expand Ente Photos
  4. Long press your desired widget and drag it to your home screen
  5. Resize the widget if needed

Configuring Widgets ​

Widget Settings ​

Open Settings > General > Home widget in the Ente app to configure your widgets.

Configuring the Albums Widget ​

  1. Open Settings > General > Home widget > Albums widget
  2. Select which albums you want to display on your home screen
  3. By default, the Favorites album is selected
  4. You can select multiple albums to include more variety

Configuring the People Widget ​

  1. Open Settings > General > Home widget > People widget
  2. Select which people you want to feature
  3. Only people detected by face recognition will appear as options

Note: You must enable face recognition before configuring the People widget.

Configuring the Memories Widget ​

  1. Open Settings > General > Home widget > Memories widget
  2. Toggle which memory types to include:
    • On This Day: Photos from this date in previous years
    • Past Years: Yearly memories
    • Smart Memories: AI-curated memorable moments

How Widgets Work ​

Data Synchronization ​

Widgets sync photos from your Ente library to your device's widget storage:

  1. The app selects photos based on your widget configuration
  2. Thumbnails are rendered and cached locally (512px resolution)
  3. Up to 50 photos are cached per widget type
  4. Widgets read from this local cache to display photos

Automatic Refresh ​

Widgets automatically refresh approximately every 15 minutes to display new photos. The refresh happens in the background, so you'll see different photos throughout the day without any manual intervention.

Tapping Widgets ​

When you tap a photo on a widget:

  • The Ente app opens directly to that photo
  • For Memories widgets, you'll see the memory collection
  • For Albums widgets, you'll see the photo in its album context
  • For People widgets, you'll see photos of that person

Tips for Best Experience ​

Ensure Photos Are Backed Up ​

Widgets display photos that are backed up to Ente. Make sure your photos are synced for the best widget experience.

Enable Face Recognition Early ​

If you want to use the People widget, enable face recognition in advance so the app can detect and group faces in your photos.

Open Settings > General > Advanced > Machine learning and enable face recognition.

Keep the App Updated ​

Widget improvements are released regularly. Keep the Ente app updated for the best performance and new features.

Add Favorite Photos ​

The Albums widget defaults to your Favorites album. Add photos to Favorites by tapping the heart icon on any photo. This ensures your most cherished photos appear on your home screen.

Platform Availability ​

PlatformHome Widgets
iOS app✅ Supported
Android app✅ Supported
Desktop app❌ Not available
Web browser❌ Not available

Privacy and Security ​

Home widgets maintain Ente's privacy standards:

  • Local storage: Widget images are stored locally on your device
  • Encrypted sync: Data synced from Ente servers is end-to-end encrypted
  • No external access: Widget data is only accessible by the Ente app and system widget framework
  • Secure deep links: Tapping widgets uses secure internal links to open photos