Come June 2021, you will no longer have access to unlimited free storage for high-quality photos and videos in Google Photos. The company has announced that those using Google Photos won’t get free uploads for high-quality photos and videos starting June 1, 2021.
This means that, if you upload High-quality images or videos, then those will be counted toward your Google Drive storage limit of 15GB from next year. Google on Wednesday asserted in a blog post that to “welcome even more of your memories,” the company needs to change its policy.
According to Google, more than 4 trillion photos are stored in Google Photos and every week 28 billion new photos and videos are uploaded. "This change will not take effect for six months, so you won’t need to change how you use Photos or take any action at this time," Google stated.
However, it added that even after June 1 next year, over 80 per cent of its users should still be able to store roughly three more years worth of memories with your free 15 GB of storage.
What about existing High quality photos and videos?
However, Google Photos has informed that existing high quality photos and videos are exempt from this change. This means that any photos or videos you’ve uploaded in High quality before June 1, 2021 will not count toward your 15GB of free storage. Photos and videos backed up before June 1, 2021 will still be considered free and exempt from the storage limit.
What about Original quality photos and videos?
It is to be noted that these changes do not affect you if you back up your photos and videos in Original quality. "As always, your Original quality photos and videos will continue to count toward your 15 GB of free storage across your Google Account," the company stated.
Exemptions
In addition to existing photos and videos backed up in High quality and any new content you back up in high quality before June 1, 2021, Google has also exempted photos uploaded from Google Pixel 1-5 smartphones. Photos and videos uploaded in High quality from Google Pixel phones will continue to be exempt from this change, even after June 1, 2021.
How to manage your quota?
To understand how the updated storage policy impacts you, you can see a personalised estimate for how long your storage may last. This estimate takes into account how frequently you back up photos, videos and other content to your Google Account.
Google Photos has informed that in June 2021, users will have access to a new free tool in the Photos app to easily manage their backed up photos and videos. "This tool will help you review the memories you want to keep while also surfacing shots you might prefer to delete, like dark or blurry photos or large videos," it stated.
How to increase the space?
If you decide you want more space, you can always expand your storage through Google One. Plans start at $1.99 per month in the US for 100 GB of storage and include additional member benefits like access to Google experts, shared family plans, etc.
In India, the basic subscription of Google One offers you 100GB storage space for Rs 130 per month or Rs 1,300 on a yearly basis. The rate increases to Rs 210 per month or Rs 2,100 per annum for 200GB, Rs 650 per month and Rs 6,500 per year for 2TB and Rs 3,250 per month for 10TB.
