Auto-created Photo Frame Albums generating dead links

[jsadie]

See cross-posted help request in the Google Photos forum: https://support.google.com/photos/thread/398573031/invalid-deleted-url-for-photos-notifications?msgi...

I am cross-posting my issue in the Nest forums here, because on the Google Photos side, I have not been able to find the album in my account to examine it and take the most likely intended action of removing it to end the notifications I am getting and simplify things.

Long ago (about a year a half, some time in 2023) I set up my nest hub and during the setup I opted in to the photo frame option to choose family members to display. As the script currently states on the setup prompt, this allows me to "create an auto-updating album of your favorite people and pets, or choose and existing album". I understand this to be one of two options. The former actually curates an album behind the scenes when it sees new content added through Google Photos for the specified people. The second points to album that I curating on my own, which incidentally could ALSO be automatically pulling new photos of specific people though it does not necessarily have to be automated in that way. During my setup I chose the FORMER automatically curated method, initially.

When I went through the setup, it crashed along the way and I recall needing to restart the process. I do not recall why it crashed but I went through the process again and it finished as expected. At some point in time, to attempt to alleviate my issues described next, I updated the settings to their current setting of pointing to an existing album rather than choosing the auto-updating album.

Ever since this time, I have been receiving notifications from the Google Photos app that certain photos have been auto-added to an album titled in a YYYY-MM-DD format. These notifications come with links an the links always show an error for an invalid URL/a link I am not permitted to access. This behavior seems buggy, at best, and it is definitely annoying. I believe it was caused by the Nest Hub setup process (either the failed or the complete one).

I don't want to turn off my notifications for real albums and I don't want my photos necessarily going to a place I cannot control access to, i.e. I don't have any way of knowing who can see this mystery album, if it exists. Is there any way to trace the settings and undo any auto-curated albums that are being managed? Is that an action that needs to be triggered in the Google Home app or the Photos app? Is there any way to see this album that I getting pinged notifications about?

Really appreciate any support possible.

[virnab]

Hi jsadie,

Thank you for reaching out to our community.

I see that the Google Photos app is sending  notifications about a "mystery album" (titled in YYYY-MM-DD format) created during a glitched Nest Hub setup in 2023. Despite switching the Nest Hub to a manual album, the background auto-curation persists, the notification links lead to error pages, and the album itself is invisible in the user's Google Photos library. I appreciate the troubleshooting you’ve already done, specifically by switching your Nest Hub settings to point to a manual album to try and stop these automated alerts. I understand how difficult it is to keep receiving these mystery notifications, and I'm happy to help you get this sorted out.

To get started, please provide some more information by answering these questions:

• Could you please confirm the exact album name appearing in the notifications?
• Can you check whether the album is visible in your Google Photos account at all?
• Which app do you primarily use to manage albums: Google Home or Google Photos?
• Are you using an Android or an iPhone to manage your Google Photos and Nest Hub settings?
• In the Google Photos app, if you go to Settings > Apps & devices > Photo frames, do you see any devices listed there that might still be linked to an auto-updating selection?
• Have you checked the "Sharing" tab in Google Photos to see if there are any shared albums there with the YYYY-MM-DD title format?
• Which version of the Google Home app are you currently using?

Please let me know these details so I can provide the most accurate recommendation for you.

Best regards,

Virna

[jsadie · Accepted solution]

Thanks for your reply. Here's the answers to your questions, and a little new information too:

• Could you please confirm the exact album name appearing in the notifications?
  I am getting warning trying to write the exact text out for this, so I will spell it out instead: "Two zero two three dash zero seven dash two eight"
  
  
• Can you check whether the album is visible in your Google Photos account at all?
  I do not see it there
  
  
• Which app do you primarily use to manage albums: Google Home or Google Photos?
  Google Photos
  
  
• Are you using an Android or an iPhone to manage your Google Photos and Nest Hub settings?
  Android
  
  
• In the Google Photos app, if you go to Settings > Apps & devices > Photo frames, do you see any devices listed there that might still be linked to an auto-updating selection?
  I never even knew this section of the settings existed! I see:
  - three photo frames that are listed as showing "photo frame highlights", including the problematic photo frame i referenced from my setup
  - an additional photo frame that is linked to a specific album of my children as well.
  - seven other devices (between chromecasts and hubs) that have no settings applied
  
  
• Have you checked the "Sharing" tab in Google Photos to see if there are any shared albums there with the YYYY-MM-DD title format?
  Yes, I have checked this section and have not found the album at all here
  
  
• Which version of the Google Home app are you currently using?
  My current version is 4.5.56.2
  
  

I also have a little bit of new information, which is that I think I was able to disable the notifications for this album by turning off the "Other" / "Other" category of notifications in the Google Photos App settings. While I think this might remedy my main annoyance, I don't think is addresses the underlying problem, so ideally we could find a resolution for the root cause of what is generating the notifications and turn it off instead of suppressing the notifications.

[virnab]

Hi jsadie,

That's great news! I'm happy to know that you were able to disable the notifications for this "mystery album." Thank you for your timely response and the comprehensive information you've provided to help me better understand the root cause of what you are experiencing.

Based on this information, I confirm that the Google Nest Hub itself does not have the ability to manage or control the content of the apps that the user installs on the device, such as the Google Photos app. I recommend that you submit your feedback through the Google Photos app, as this issue should be addressed on their end.

Feel free to keep us posted if you have more questions.

Best regards,

Virna