As of June 1, 2021, Google photos, unlimited storage for photos and videos have ended. Every user from now on will be given a 15 GB storage for their videos and photos. Through this move, Google aims to encourage its users to sign up for their paid storage subscription service google one.
What does that mean to the Google Photos users?
This 15 GB cap on storage only applies to the photos/videos taken post-June 1st, which means any photo or video uploaded before yesterday is exempt from this cap. While 15 GB does not seem like much, an average user would be able to store 2-3 years of content on 15 GB. If you’re about to cross the 15 GB threshold, Google will notify you either via the app or by Gmail.
Back in May, The Tech giants also added a new tool to their photos app that helps you manage your photo storage. the tool suggests the removal of blurry/unclear images, large videos, etc free up space.
Is Google One Subscription worth it?
If you like clicking a lot of photos or shoot scores of videos, your 15 GB storage limit will quickly elapse. If you’d like to continue snapping pictures without being annoyed by this pesky limit, Google One is for you. Akin to Apple iCloud, Google launched their storage subscription service google one last year. It allows you to store your photos, videos, etc on the cloud storage once you reach the 15 GB free storage limit. To sign up for this service, you can either download the app via play store sign in to your google account in the app, and subscribe, or you can do it here, make sure you’re signed in to your Google account.
Google One Plans
| Storage Space | Monthly | Annually |
| 100 GB | 2 USD | 20 USD |
| 200 GB | 3 USD | 30 USD |
| 2 TB | 10 USD | 100 USD |
The 100 GB plan should suffice for most users. I subscribed to the 100 GB Plan, despite uploading close to 2000 images, I still have about 80 GB left out of 100 GB.
What if you own a Google Pixel?
If you own a Pixel, the 15 GB limit does not apply to you. You can store any image you want without a cap. You can find more about the upcoming Pixel 6 here.
If you’re looking for the best alternatives to google photos or free alternatives to google photos, you can check out this article.
