Release Notes

2.3.3 — Google Photos Integration & Smarter History

New features

• Google Photos overlay: Install the PhotoMentor Chrome Extension to see scores and verdicts directly on Google Photos — no uploading, no tab-switching. One click sends any photo for analysis without leaving the page.
• In-app promotion banner: Users with 3 or more analyses now see a dismissible banner introducing the Google Photos integration.
• What's New pop-up updated: The What's New modal now includes a direct link to the Chrome Web Store so you can try the extension in one click.

Improvements

• SEO landing section: Added a dedicated section on the landing page explaining the Google Photos workflow for better discoverability.
• Versions: Frontend 2.3.3 · Chrome Extension 2.3.3.

2.3.2 — Chrome Extension: Google Photos

New features

• Google Photos integration (Chrome Extension): The PhotoMentor Chrome Extension now shows an AI score overlay on every photo you've analyzed while browsing photos.google.com. Click to analyze new photos instantly, right in the Google Photos UI.
• Improved image fetching: The extension now handles protocol-relative URLs, wildcard subdomains, and usercontent.google.com domains for robust image detection and prefetching.
• Account deletion: Users can now permanently delete their account and all associated data from Settings. Deleted account email addresses are tombstoned to prevent re-registration abuse.

Improvements

• Narrowed extension host permissions — removed <all_urls> in favor of targeted Google CDN domains only.
• Versions: Frontend 2.3.2 · Chrome Extension 2.3.2.

2.3.0 — Advice Preview & Obstruction Detection

New features

• Advice Preview: Before committing to a detailed critique, you can now preview the AI's core advice suggestion. The preview includes safety checks so only genuinely actionable suggestions are surfaced.
• Obstruction Detection: The analysis pipeline now explicitly flags obstructions (dirty lens, glass reflections, stray objects clipping the frame) as a separate category, reducing false negatives in composition scoring.
• History filters & search: Filter history by genre, score range, or date; search by keyword. Results load with live query indicators.
• Product telemetry: Opt-in interaction events track advice preview usage to guide future improvements.

Improvements

• Enhanced crop guidance: explicit crop percentage support and harmful same-edge advice suppression.
• AI timeout configuration for Gemini calls to prevent stalled analyses.
• Versions: Frontend 2.3.0 · Backend 2.3.0 · Prompt 4.21.

2.2.1 — Revision Preflight & Smarter Deletions

New features

• Revision preflight: When you upload a photo similar to a previous one, the app now shows a preflight confirmation before re-analyzing — letting you choose between a fresh critique or a revision-aware comparison.
• Revision stack deletion: Delete an entire revision stack (all edits of the same shot) with a single confirmation dialog. The delete button shows the total version count so you know exactly what will be removed.
• Hard veto logic: Geometry mismatches (e.g., portrait vs. landscape) now veto revision detection, preventing incorrect "same photo" matches across different crops or aspect ratios.

Improvements

• Previous analysis result is preserved during preflight check — no blank state while the app evaluates similarity.
• Anchor score telemetry for revision chains to improve scoring consistency over multiple edits.
• Versions: Frontend 2.2.1 · Backend 2.2.1 · Prompt 4.21.

2.1.4 — Revision Stacks, Variant Analysis & Retention

New features

• Revision stacks in history: Edits of the same photo are now grouped into collapsible stacks in the history view, so your timeline doesn't fill up with near-duplicate uploads.
• Same-image variant analysis: Upload a different tone or style of a photo you've already analyzed and the Mentor gives a targeted comparison — "vs. your Hard Truth version" — instead of treating it as a new submission.
• Long-wait notice: A friendly notice appears if analysis takes longer than expected, so you know the AI is still working.
• Free-limit retention experiment: An A/B test is running to evaluate different free quota messaging and conversion prompts for registered users.

Improvements

• Token credit analytics in the admin dashboard: net change and outstanding balance metrics.
• Revision detection candidate selection now filters to recent embeddings for faster and more relevant matching.
• Versions: Frontend 2.1.4 · Backend 2.1.4.

2.1.3 — Session Stability & Bug Fixes

Improvements

• Backend session tokens: Authentication now uses persistent backend session tokens, eliminating silent 401 drops that caused mid-session logouts on some devices.
• Google avatar persistence: Profile pictures from Google sign-in are now stored and restored across sessions without requiring a new OAuth round-trip.
• Analysis acquisition source normalization: Traffic source labels (organic, direct, referral) are normalized consistently in admin analytics.

Bug fixes

• Fixed edge cases in session recovery where expired tokens were not refreshed before analysis submission.
• Minor stability fixes in the analysis pipeline and history loading.
• Versions: Frontend 2.1.3 · Backend 2.1.3.

2.1.0 beta — Voice, White Balance & Smarter Memory

New features

• AI Mentor Twin — Voice Critique: Photography schools and individual educators can now deploy a voiced AI mentor persona tuned to their teaching style and aesthetic values. Audio critique is synthesized from the full analysis + personalized advice, cached server-side, and auto-played on repeat visits. A working reference implementation is already live — get in touch to discuss your setup.
• White Balance Analysis: A new dedicated module evaluates color cast, temperature drift, and mixed-light issues. The model is now explicitly forbidden from inventing WB problems when the image is correctly exposed.
• Smarter Revision Memory (Prompt 4.10): Darkroom edits — grain, exposure, contrast, color grading — are now reliably recognized as revisions instead of new uploads. The mentor no longer grades from scratch after a post-processing pass, and previously praised moments can no longer be retroactively downgraded.
• Secondary Genre: Sub-genre is now shown as a chip in the analysis card (e.g., "+ Documentary") and in the Progress Dashboard genre filter.
• Top-3 Recurring Issues: The Progress Dashboard now highlights the three weakness tags you repeat most across your history.
• Public B2B API: POST /api/v1/analyze is live for partner integrations with per-key rate limiting and quota isolation.
• Token Packs: One-time credit packs via Stripe Checkout. Bonus credits unlock the detailed analysis view without a subscription.
• Report for all analyses: The "Flag an issue" button is now available on every authenticated analysis, not just masterpieces.

Improvements

• Gaze & travel direction guardrails: The model can no longer give contradictory lead-room advice on sequential uploads of the same scene.
• Modular prompt architecture: Core rules are now a registry of composable modules, making per-genre and per-persona overrides much easier to maintain.
• Indeterminate loading bar: The upload indicator now shows an estimated time remaining instead of a static spinner.
• Embedding retry logic: Transient embedding errors are retried with exponential backoff instead of hard-failing.
• Versions: Frontend 2.1.0 beta · Backend 2.1.0 beta · Prompt 4.10.

2.0.0 beta — Bulk Culling

New: Bulk Culling (beta)

• Session Analysis: Upload an entire photo session at once. The AI automatically culls duplicates, blurry shots, and exposure failures — surfacing only the strongest frames for your review.
• Ranked Finalists: Every surviving photo gets a score and a short critique. Finalists are ranked so you know exactly where to start editing.
• Export & Email Report: Download your finalist list or receive a full session report by email — ready to share with a client or review on any device.
• Pro Workflow tier: Unlimited bulk jobs for serious shooters. Early Bird pricing available until April 15 — use code EARLYBIRD50 (50% off annual) or EARLYBIRD25 (25% off monthly).

Also in this release

• Free quota: Free registered users now get 1 analysis per month instead of 1 per day.
• Guard V2 + YOLO Geometry Pass (Prompt v4.3): A dedicated geometry scan makes bounding boxes more accurate and reduces AI hallucinations.
• Smarter "Visual Memory": The similarity engine better distinguishes genuinely new photos from re-edited versions of previous uploads.
• Versions: Frontend 2.0.0 beta · Backend 2.0.0 beta · Prompt 4.3.

Bulk Culling is in active development. Send us feedback — we read everything.

1.9.4 beta — The Precision Update

Features

• Guard V2 + YOLO Geometry Pass (Prompt v4.3): We completely rebuilt how the AI actually "sees" your photos. A dedicated YOLO geometry pass now feeds into Guard V2 before the final critique, so bounding boxes are far more accurate and AI hallucinations (inventing objects that aren't there) are dramatically reduced.
• Smarter "Visual Memory": The Similarity Engine got a massive upgrade. It now better distinguishes between a genuinely new photo and a re-edited version of one you've uploaded before, giving you more relevant progress tracking.
• Smarter Achievements: Earning achievements like "Golden Ratio" now requires strict confirmation from Guard V2, meaning when you earn a top score, you really earned it.

Improvements

• Loading Screen Personality: Waiting for critique? We added over 80 new curated photography jokes and insights across all 4 supported languages to keep you entertained while the AI works.
• Polished Guest Experience: First-time users now get a sequential series of tips explaining exactly how the AI analyzes their photos while they wait for their first result.

1.8.5

Features

• Mentor tones: Choose how direct the feedback should be: Hard Truth vs Key Insight. Your choice is applied to new analyses and saved to your account after sign-in.
• Achievements (Pro): Unlock achievements while analyzing photos. If you unlock one on a specific analysis, it appears under the score as a chip.
• Bug fixes and performance: Multiple fixes in guest onboarding, credits display, and analysis pipeline responsiveness.

Details

• Credits: Free Starter now includes 3 welcome analyses, then 1 free daily after they are used.
• Progress Dashboard setting: The toggle is now Pro-only. When you upgrade to Pro, it becomes available and turns on automatically.
• Guest experience: Guest analysis is enriched in the background (regions/boxes) and is claimed on sign-in without re-analysis.
• Payments: Stripe Checkout flow stabilized and promo codes are supported in Checkout.
• Versions: Frontend 1.8.5 · Backend 1.8.5 · Prompt 3.5.

1.8.1

Features

• Grounded AI (Prompt v3.3): The Mentor now reasons through your photo's genre before critiquing. Expect more consistent, calibrated scores.
• Progress Teaser: Guests now see a preview of the Progress Dashboard. Uploads are saved—sign in to unlock everything!
• Bot Menu: New /menu command in @PhotoMentorBot with quick access to all features.
• History Drag & Drop fix: Drag any photo from your history will not cause the error message

Improvements

• Guest Experience: Thumbnails preserved, clearer limit messaging, smoother conversion flow.
• PWA Install: Smarter prompts for mobile app installation.
• Tag Glossary: 53 refined tags with clearer labels. Stats now filter noise (3+ count).

1.7.3-Viral

Features

• Viral Share: Share your analysis with a unique public link! Includes a dedicated beautiful page for your masterpiece.
• Mentor Memory (Logic V3.2): The AI now remembers its advice. Improve your photo based on feedback, and the Mentor will acknowledge your progress.
• Visual Facts: New "What AI Saw" section lists objective facts to help you understand how the AI views your scene.
• Genre Detection: Automatic detection of photography genre (Street, Portrait, Abstract, etc.).

1.6.8

Features

• Polyglot Telegram Bot: Full localization for Russian, English, German, and Spanish with auto-detection.
• Telegram Stars: Seamless in-app purchases for Premium subscriptions using Telegram Stars (XTR).
• Group Governance: Admins can manage bot behavior in groups (activation, cooldowns) via /admin.
• Spam Protection: Smart filtering to prevent bot spam in groups.
• Account Linking: Link your Telegram account via @PhotoMentorBot to sync Premium status.

Improvements

• Admin UI: Interactive inline buttons for managing group settings.
• Database: Optimized schema for localization and group settings.

1.6.5

Features

• AI Curator v2.4-Vlad: Stricter scoring, anti-cliché advice, and context-aware feedback. The curator got tougher.
• Snappier Response: Analysis pipeline optimized with async processing — feel the difference on busy days.
• Quality Tracking: Every analysis now logs its AI version for long-term quality insights.

Improvements

• Reduced Similarity Scan: History matching now checks 30 recent photos instead of 100, improving response times.
• Database Indexing: Added composite index for faster history and stats queries.
• Session Recovery: 401 errors now trigger automatic re-login instead of silent failures.

1.6.3

Improvements

• Smarter Similarity Checks: Matching now uses a histogram cross-check to reduce false “seen before” detections.
• Session Recovery: Expired sessions are refreshed during analysis with clearer, localized messaging.
• More Reliable History: The History button responds consistently, and tag details stay mobile-friendly.

1.6.1

Features

• Verdict Line: A short verdict now appears right under the score for faster takeaways.
• Progress Trial Access: Free users get a 7-day full Progress Dashboard trial. Legacy users receive a grace period after release.
• Mobile Dashboard: The Progress modal now fits small screens with proper scrolling.
• Release Notes Page: Full release notes are now linked from the What’s New modal.
• Cleaner History & Progress: History refreshes on account switch, and masterpieces are auto-excluded from progress.

1.6.0

Features

• Score Calibration & Smart Tags: We’ve upgraded the analysis core (System Prompt v2.4) to make critiques more objective and actionable.
  • Score Calibration (Deflation): Baseline is now 5.0; scores above 8.0 are reserved for exceptional work to reflect real progress.
  • Smart Advice (Anti-Cliché Engine): We removed generic tips and now prioritize concrete, actionable edits and re-shoot guidance.
• Mentor Memory: Similar uploads are recognized and the critique highlights what changed since the previous version.
• Progress Dashboard: Daily average chart, current level score, and top strengths/weaknesses.
• Smarter Tags & Tooltips: Tag glossary with context-aware tooltips for strengths/weaknesses.
• Mood Localization: Mood labels are mapped to the UI language for clearer context.
• Detailed Analysis Toggle: Preference is remembered and can be changed mid-analysis without breaking the flow.

Improvements

• Embedding Fallback: Image embeddings now work via text description → text-embedding-004.
• History Stats: Daily aggregation and rolling average for cleaner trend lines.

1.5.6

Features

• New Domain: We’ve moved to photomentor.pro, and the old link still works.
• Detailed Pro Loader: The detailed analysis loader now shows full parsing stages.
• History Cleanup UX: Deleting a history item now animates into a brief “Deleted” strip and clears the active view.
• Policy Links Added: Privacy Policy and Terms are now visible on the main page.

1.5.3

Features

• Context-Aware AI: The Mentor detects the mood and tailors advice to match your artistic intent.
• Smart Placement: Overlapping zones can be clicked directly thanks to smarter layering.

Bug Fixes

• History list now refreshes reliably after new analyses.
• Minor stability fixes for smoother experience.

1.4.0

Features

• New Feedback Card for sharing analysis feedback.
• Pricing modal for plan comparison.
• Score gauge for a more visual rating.
• Skeleton loader to improve perceived speed.

1.3.1

Features

• Guest teaser mode with one free analysis and a smooth unlock after sign-in.
• Guest analysis now translated to the selected language.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed missing Analyze button and missing teaser overlays for guests.
• Improved sign-in prompt after demo is exhausted.
• Resolved backend startup issues and a typo in thumbnail creation.
• Forced dev API calls to localhost to avoid prod mix-ups.

1.3.0

Notes

• Previous updates before this release.