Google Photos will end its unlimited free storage policy for photos and videos next week. In a word, after June 1, any new photos and videos you upload will be counted in the free 15GB storage that comes with each Google account. But don’t worry: any photos or videos you upload before that day is not part of the cap. And Google has added a new free tool to help you manage your storage quota.
The move, first announced in November, is intended to encourage people to sign up for Google’s storage subscription service. Above all, Google One plans start at $ 2 per month for 100GB of storage in the US and other features like the Google Store rebate.
Google Photos Free storage will end now.
Google Photos will cap your free storage at 15GB and encourage people to sign up for its Google One storage subscription service instead.
After June 1, any new photos and videos you upload will count toward the free 15GB of storage that comes with every Google account. But don’t worry Any photos or videos you’ve uploaded before that day won’t be part of the cap. And Google has added a new free tool to help you manage your storage quota
As a matter of fact,make sure your existing photos and videos are backed up in Google Photos before the Tuesday deadline, since those will be considered free and exempt from the storage limit. You can check your backup quality in the Photos app by going to Settings > Back up & sync.
Once the change takes effect, more than 80% of current Google Photos users should still be able to store about three years of content with that free 15GB. Google will notify you in the app and by email once you get close to hitting your 15GB limit. You can also find a personalized estimate for how long your free storage may last. It based on how frequently you back up photos and videos to your Google Account.
In May, Google added a new tool in the Photos app to help you manage the photos and videos you’ve backed up that count toward your 15GB storage quota. It will surface photos or videos that you might want to delete. That includes, like photos that are blurry or screenshots, or videos that are large, to better manage the storage you have.
More than 4 trillion photos are stored in Google Photos. The company said in November, with 28 billion new photos and videos uploaded each week. In May, Google unveiled new Photos features for all the users globally. It will be including the ability to remove photos from your Memories and new AI-powered techniques to make your photos come alive.
The bottom line
Best options for you
Considering Google Photos is one of the best photo tools you can get on the Internet, there are not many alternatives. There are a few photo services, but they also come with a storage quota.
Dropbox is one cloud service that users can try out for uploading. However, it offers only 2GB to a single user as part of its free basic personal plan. Users will have to buy storage if they wish to store more content on this cloud service.
Microsoft OneDrive is another decent option for users who are looking for a Google Photos alternative. The OneDrive service offers a free tier of 5GB. Suppose, if users want more space, they can buy the 100GB plan for Rs 140 per month.
Amazon Photos is one good option for Prime members, which offers unlimited, full-resolution photo storage and 5GB video storage. But this is not available in India.
