No free unlimited Google Photos storage from 2021: Details here
Google has announced that it will be ending the free unlimited storage feature on Google Photos from next year. For over five years, Google Photos has been offering unlimited photo/video backups at "high quality" for free to users. However, from June 1, 2021, Google Photos will no longer provide free unlimited "high quality" backups and instead start charging for storage exceeding 15GB. Here's more.
Users will still get 15GB of free storage
From June 1 next year, users will have to pay for a "Google One" subscription in order to have cloud storage for Google Photos. But they will still have 15GB of free storage space that is available by default with every Google Account. It is essential to note that this Google Account storage includes Gmail as well as Google Drive.
This only applies to uploads after June 1 next year
Users should note that the photos and videos uploaded in high quality to Google Photos before June 1, 2021, will not be counted against the 15GB limit. Simply put, only uploads done after June 1 will be counted toward the storage cap. The free, unlimited photo/video uploads at high quality in a compressed format is one of the key features offered by the service.
Google Photos has two tiers of uploads and backups
At present, Google offers two tiers of uploads and backups in Google Photos: original quality and high quality. In the original quality option, photos/videos are uploaded in their original size and resolution, while in the high quality option, they are compressed in size without any significant loss of quality. This "high quality" option was unlimited and free for users until now.
Here's what Google Photos VP Ben-Yair stated
"Starting June 1, 2021, any new photos and videos you upload will count toward the free 15 GB of storage that comes with every Google Account or the additional storage you've purchased as a Google One member," wrote Shimrit Ben-Yair, the Vice-President at Google Photos, in a company blog post. "Your Google Account storage is shared across Drive, Gmail, and Photos," she added.
Original quality uploads already counted toward storage cap
Google has also stated that users will be receiving alerts and warnings when they are about to reach the free, 15GB storage limit. To note, the "original quality" photo and video uploads in Google Photos are already counted toward the storage cap. But from next year, the "high quality" uploads will also be counted against the storage limit.
Four Google One subscription plans in India
Coming to Google One subscription options for the users in India, there are four types available. There is a 100GB storage plan that costs Rs. 130 per month, while users can enjoy 200GB storage space for Rs. 210 a month. On the other hand, they can get 2TB storage for Rs. 650 per month and 10TB of space at Rs. 3,250 per month.
