How to Make Before and After Pictures on Android

To make before and after pictures on Android, select two photos, arrange the earlier image before the later one, and save the result as a single image. For a one-time collage, use Google Photos; for a comparison with timeline and date labels, import both photos into Progress Photo: Before After, open Before / After, and tap Save as image.

For a one-time picture, use Google Photos

Open Google Photos on Android and select your two pictures. Tap Create, then Collage, and choose a two-photo layout. Touch and hold a photo to drag it into the earlier or later position; pinch within a frame to adjust its zoom. Keep the earlier photo on the left in a horizontal layout, or at the top in a vertical layout. Tap Save to keep the collage in your library, or Share to send it. This route works when you just need two pictures together.

1. Import both photos into one Progress project

In Progress, create a project or open an existing one for the subject you want to compare. For a new project, enter a name, choose a category and photo frequency, and create it. You can turn its reminder off if you only need this comparison. On the project screen, tap Import photos and select the two existing images from your phone. Both must be in the same project to appear in its comparison picker. You do not need to take them again with the app's camera. Once import finishes, check that both thumbnails appear in the timeline.

2. Check the dates before you compare

Open each imported photo from the timeline and check its displayed date. Progress attempts to read a JPEG's embedded capture date; when it cannot find one, it falls back to the file's modified date or the current date. An imported picture therefore does not always arrive with the day you actually took it. If the date is wrong, tap Date in the photo viewer, set the correct day, and tap Save. The timeline reorders itself. Correct the date before building the comparison, because the image export uses those stored dates for its labels.

3. Select the before and after frames

Return to the project and open Before / After under Tools, or open the comparison card above it. Progress initially selects the project's first and last photos. Tap the Before selector beneath the image to choose the earlier frame, then tap After to choose the later frame. This matters if your project contains more than the two pictures you imported. Check the thumbnails and their dates rather than assuming the default pair is right. If both sides look identical, make sure you have not selected the same frame twice; the picker allows that.

4. Set the view you want to export

Choose Slider, Side by side, or Fade at the top. For a straightforward picture that shows both stages separately, choose Side by side. In Slider, drag the divider to set where the earlier image ends and the later one begins. In Fade, use the lower control to set how strongly the later picture appears over the earlier one. Save the view that communicates your change clearly. The table lists the current JPEG export dimensions, which are fixed by the selected mode rather than chosen in a separate size menu.

5. Create the JPEG and choose a destination

Tap Save as image beneath the date selectors. Progress creates a JPEG with a timeline label and a short calendar date for each frame, then opens Android's share sheet. Choose a destination available on your phone to keep or send the file. Despite the button's name, this Android flow does not automatically add the comparison to your gallery. If you close the share sheet without completing a destination's save or send action, do not assume you have kept a copy. Also avoid Share latest on the project screen when you want the combined image: that tool shares only the newest individual photo.

6. Inspect the exported crop and labels

Open the resulting JPEG before posting it. There is a current limitation: the saved image can be cropped differently from the comparison preview. The preview stretches into the available screen area, while export uses a fixed shape and center-crops the photos to fill it. Details near an edge may be cut off or move within the frame. Check the subject's edges, the divider position, and both labels in the actual file. Some long date selectors can also be shortened on narrow screens; if a selector is cut off, return to the individual photo viewer to check its full date.

If the photos do not line up

Progress's comparison screen does not provide controls to reposition, rotate, or independently zoom imported photos into alignment. If the mismatch makes the result hard to read, prepare matching crops in a separate photo editor, keep the originals, and import the edited copies. Recheck their dates after importing. Choose crops around the same visible subject, such as the same cabinet or planter, rather than enlarging one stage just to make the change look greater. If the photos were taken from very different viewpoints, a side-by-side result may be more useful than trying to force an overlay.

Add context the image cannot carry on its own

The exported labels show the project's day, week, or month position plus a short month-and-day date. They do not include the year, so put the full dates in your accompanying caption when the pair spans different years. For a renovation or craft project, briefly say what changed between the two shots. Progress's comparison export does not offer a custom caption field; add that explanation where you share the picture, or use another editor if it must appear inside the image. Keep the original pair so you can make a different comparison later.