Google Photos was launched more than 5 years ago, and since then, it has become a useful tool for those who want to back up their images and videos to have them always available in the cloud. However, soon its most outstanding feature, unlimited and free storage of high-quality files, will no longer be free.
Today there are more than 4 billion photos stored in Google Photos, and every week 28 billion new photos and videos are uploaded to the platform. Many users upload their memories and perfect moments to this service that was born to revolutionize the way we stored images and videos, and according to Google, to become the ‘home of our memories’. From 2021, those memories can still be there, and you can upload more, but you will have limitations.
What change will Google make to Google Photos?
The Internet giant announced in its blog a significant change in the policy of unlimited free storage of this service. To build Google Photos for the future, the company will eliminate free high-quality storage from June 1st, 2021, to bring more improvements to its platform.
From that date, every image or video that users upload to Google Photos will be moved to the 15 GB that Google offers for free to all users who have a Gmail account. The storage will be shared with Drive, Photos, and Gmail. In case you use all the space provided by default, you will not be able to back up any more files, or you will have to pay for more storage.
Google One, the service that will give you more storage
If after June 1, 2021, you need more storage space to save your photos and videos, you will have to opt for some of the plans offered by Google One. It is a subscription service that was created in 2018 to offer expanded cloud storage to users who have used their 15 GB free of charge on their Google services.
The company offers three paid plans with different capacities and a price according to the space limit.
What will happen to the photos and videos already stored in Google Photos?
Although the change in Google Photos’ storage policy may be bad news for users, there is something to consider. You will not have to worry about the images and videos stored in the service until June 1st, 2020.
That is, all your files backed up to date on the platform will not count in the default storage of 15 GB free, nor will those backed up until the deadline. These files will still be considered free, so the change will not affect them.
Google also stated that this change does not apply to users of their Pixel smartphones. The company revealed that those with a Pixel 1 through 5 will continue to enjoy unlimited free storage even after June 1, 2021.
Until now, there was no application similar to Google Photos to store photos and videos. Its technology has made the app an indispensable tool for many users. However, starting next year, you will have to choose either which images to upload or select a paid plan to continue enjoying the service more widely.