Big change coming into effect on June 1, 2021

Nov 12, 2020 19:19 GMT  ·  By

Five years ago, Google announced an exciting new feature for Google Photos: users who configured their devices to upload camera rolls to the services were provided with unlimited storage, and this was great news especially for those with reduced local storage.

Just think about 16GB Android phones. With such a service, caring about storage was no longer needed, as Google just promised to take care of photos as long as they are stored in the cloud.

The Mountain View-based search giant, however, is changing this approach after users uploaded more than 4 trillion photos to the services.

Despite the 28 billion new photos and videos uploaded to Google Photos every week, the company will no longer allow unlimited storage on the service. Beginning with June 1, 2021, users would just be provided with the typical 15GB of storage that’s part of their Google accounts even for Google Photos uploads.

“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. Your Google Account storage is shared across Drive, Gmail and Photos. This change also allows us to keep pace with the growing demand for storage. And, as always, we uphold our commitment to not use information in Google Photos for advertising purposes. We know this is a big shift and may come as a surprise, so we wanted to let you know well in advance and give you resources to make this easier,” Google explains.

The good news is that photos and videos that have already been uploaded to Google Photos before the June 1, 2021 deadline won’t be affected, so only new uploads would be limited to the 15GB total.

Also, if you use a Google Pixel phone, no matter the generation, you can continue to upload content to Google Photos without any storage limitation, even after the June 1 deadline.

Google also says that in the next summer, users will receive access to a new tool in the Photos app that will make it easier and more convenient to manage the storage, just to make sure that uploaded images and videos don’t eat up too much of their 15GB storage.

“This change does not take effect for another six months, so you don’t need to do anything right now. And once this change does take effect on June 1, 2021, over 80 percent of you should still be able to store roughly three more years worth of memories with your free 15 GB of storage. As your storage nears 15 GB, we will notify you in the app and follow up by email,” Google explains.

“And in June 2021, you’ll be able to access a new free tool in the Photos app to easily manage your 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.”

Customers who want to continue to upload more files to Google Photos and exceed the 15GB limit can always purchase more storage through Google One. In the United States, Google One is available starting at $1.99 per month for an additional of 100 GB and you also receive extra capabilities, including shared family plans.

Of course, switching to a Google Pixel remains the recommended way to receive unlimited storage on Google Photos in the long term.