Google Photos storage limit is now getting a 15GB cap. Users will only be able to store photos and videos, up to 15 gigabytes for free from June 1, 2021. Previously, unlimited storage was free and users could store as much media as they wanted. Google has also changed the storage for Google Drive and Gmail.
Google Photos is a cloud storage service that allows users to free up their smartphone storage by syncing their photos and videos to the cloud. For over five years now, the search engine giant has not charged a single cent for storing compressed (high quality) pictures for unlimited storage space.
“Today, more than 4 trillion photos are stored in Google Photos, and every week 28 billion new photos and videos are uploaded.
Since so many of you rely on Google Photos to store your memories, it’s important that it’s not just a great product, but also continues to meet your needs over the long haul. In order to welcome even more of your memories and build Google Photos for the future, we are changing our unlimited High quality storage policy.”
New Google Photos Storage Limit
Google account storage is shared across Photos, Gmail, and Drive. Therefore, starting from June 1, 2021, all new photos and videos uploaded on the app will count toward the free 15 GB storage. Although the free storage space will not be unlimited in the next six months, Google explains that 80% of users would still be able to save their photos and videos in the Photos app for approximately three years before running out of free storage.
Fortunately for existing users, the company is not going to count any existing free high-quality content towards the free 15GB storage space. However, original quality photos and videos will count towards the 15GB of free storage.
New Ways to Manage 15GB Storage Space on Google Photos
To manage the new limited free storage space, Google has introduced new features:
- The app will send alter notifications and follow up emails to users when will get closer to the 15 GB.
- A personalized estimate feature shows how long the user’s storage will last.
- A new free tool to manage backed up data and review uploaded photos and videos to clear up space taken by unwanted or duplicated images or videos.
The company states that the reason for changing the free Google Photos storage limit is to provide users with good service in the long run.
“This change also allows us to keep pace with the growing demand for storage. And, as always, we uphold our commitmentto not use information in Google Photos for advertising purposes. We know this is a big shift and may come as a surprise, so we wanted to let you know well in advance and give you resources to make this easier.”
However, it is also likely that the search engine giant changed the free unlimited storage to 15GB only to market and boost Google One subscription. Google One is paid storage space which gives 100 GB for a monthly fee of $1.99.
Google Photos app is compatible with iOS and Andriod devices and can be downloaded for free from App Store and Google Play, respectively.
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