PremiumStarting 1 June, 2021, any new photos and videos that will be uploaded on Google Photos will count toward the free 15 GB of storage that comes with every Google Account
Google, late last year announced that it will stop providing free unlimited storage to users. The company has introduced the platform in 2015 and is finally going to stop providing unlimited storage to users from 1 June.
Starting 1 June, 2021, any new photos and videos that will be uploaded on Google Photos will count toward the free 15 GB of storage that comes with every Google Account or the additional storage that user has purchased as a Google One member. The free 15GB or the additional amount of data purchased is shared between Google Drive, Gmail and Photos.
The company is popular for providing various additional services along with just cloud storage
The move to stop providing unlimited storage will help the company manage the growing demand of data storage. According to the company, more than 4 trillion photos are stored in Google Photos, and every week 28 billion new photos and videos are uploaded. Google claims that this change also allows them to keep pace with the growing demand for storage.
What can users do?
Users invested in Google’s ecosystem have the option to purchase the Google One subscription which offers extended storage for a specified amount of time.
Google One plans start at a price of ₹130 per month for 100GB of storage. The user can also go for an annual plan with the same storage at ₹1300.
The second plan with 200GB storage can be availed at a price of ₹2,100 per year or ₹210 per month.
The highest storage available is 2TB and it is available at ₹6,500 per year or ₹650 per month.
What happens to photos in existing storage?
Google claims that any photos or videos that have been uploaded in High quality before June 1, 2021 will not count toward the 15GB of free storage or the storage that has been bought additionally. Photos and videos backed up before June 1, 2021 will still be considered free and exempt from the storage limit.
If the user backs up their photos and videos in Original quality, these changes do not affect them. The original quality photos and videos will continue to count toward the 15 GB of free storage across the user’s Google Account.
Pixel phone users, however, still get some additional benefits. Owners of any of the Pixel devices can still upload pictures from that device and it won’t impact the storage. Photos and videos uploaded in High quality from that device will continue to be exempt from this change, even after June 1, 2021.
Google claims that over 80% of users should still be able to store roughly three more years worth of memories with the free 15 GB of storage. The company will notify the user when the storage starts getting close to the 15 GB mark. The platform offers tools that will allow users to pick out pictures/ videos that need to be deleted.
Additionally, users have the choice of other platforms such as Microsoft OneDrive, Amazon Photos, Dropbox and even Apple Photos.
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