Back in January, Android Authority uncovered hints of a new feature in development for Google Photos called “My Week”. Recently, the publication was also able to enable it through an APK teardown which shows the feature to be strikingly similar to the core functionality of photo-sharing app Retro.
My Week, though not yet live, seems to be designed to let users share curated weekly photo highlights with a select group of friends and family. The invite-only feature aims to keep loved ones updated on your life through automatic, weekly photo compilations.
However, this concept has a strong resemblance to the core function of Retro. Not only does the purpose align, but an early glimpse of My Week suggests the feature will have a similar user interface.
Retro co-founder Ryan Olson took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his observations, stating “feel like I’ve seen this somewhere…” alongside a monocle emoji. Olson in another post shared a side-by-side comparison highlighting the parallels between Retro’s app and My Week.
While imitation might be considered flattery in some circles, it’s unlikely Retro is thrilled about a tech giant seemingly replicating its core idea.
Speaking to TechCrunch, Retro CEO Nathan Sharp expressed cautious optimism. He acknowledges the initial frustration of seeing features seemingly “lifted one to one,” but remains hopeful that Google’s My Week will evolve before its public release.
Sharp emphasizes that he doesn’t believe Google’s final product will be judged based on its current, pre-release state: “This isn’t what they’re shipping. They aren’t asking to be judged on what’s on Twitter today.”
However, Sharp doesn’t discount the competitive threat Google poses if My Week remains largely unchanged. But he seems confident about Retro’s focus and its user base, “I think Retro users appreciate that we have a very specific purpose.” Only time will tell how closely My Week resembles Retro’s core offering upon its official release.
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