Google is getting ready to change its storage policy for Google Photos on June 1, with the company taking away free unlimited backups from users. Ahead of this shift for the service, Google has provided a couple of new details on how exactly the policy will work — and what users can expect once it arrives.
Ever since the launch of Google Photos in 2015, its best feature has been the ability to upload an unlimited number of images without it counting towards a data cap. Users could choose to use this unlimited storage when uploading photos at a 'High quality' setting, or upload them at their full, original resolution and use up a set amount of storage space. After six years of offering this functionality, Google announced in November 2020 that this would be changing. Free and unlimited backups are officially ending this June, with all users now limited to 15GB of free space. Any photos/videos uploaded in High quality prior to June 1 won't count towards the 15GB limit, but from that date on, new uploads will.
Just a few days before unlimited backups go away, a couple of new features for Photos have been announced. First, Google is renaming the 'High quality' upload option to 'Storage saver.' The resolution of these uploads remains exactly the same (max 16MB file size), but the new name now gives it a clear purpose. Want photos to look as good as possible? Upload them at their original resolution. Running out of space but still have pictures to upload? Use the Storage saver option. Some people might see it as an insignificant change, but it should take out some confusion that previously surrounded the two upload types.
Google Photos Will Help Users Delete Unwanted Files
What's even more noteworthy is the new storage management tool that Google is rolling out to everyone that uses Photos for free. From the Back up & sync settings in the Google Photos app, Google has a new 'Manage storage' button that will help people delete images they likely don't want. It allows users to review/delete blurry photos, screenshots, and ones with especially large file sizes. Google also makes it easy for anyone to sign up for a paid Google One plan for additional storage.
The end goal is to obviously get more people to sign up for those Google One plans, so the fact that Google is taking the time to roll out tools like this is great to see. For anyone that still finds themselves running out of the initial 15GB even with these new things in place, Google One starts at $20/year for 100GB of storage. Google also offers 200GB for $30 year, 2TB for $100/year, and plans up to as much as 30TB.
Source: Google