As of June 1, 2021, Google Photos will no longer provide unlimited storage space. Here's what to do today
Among the elements that have quickly helped make Google Photos one of the most popular and appreciated services is the unlimited storage space for photos and videos. Those who have agreed to slightly reduce the quality in fact have been able to save their content in the cloud without any limit.
From June 1, 2021, tomorrow, what was a big competitive advantage over the best-known competitors - Microsoft with OneDrive, Amazon with Photos, Dropbox, etc. - will be a thing of the past. In recent days we have explained on several occasions on these pages what happens from June 1, 2021, and what are the best alternatives to Google Photos that those who have benefited from the privileges of the service of the big G and do not want to give up would do well to evaluate. But today, May 31, 2021, being the last day in which the formula of unlimited storage is valid, is a day to take advantage of properly. Let's see how.
The stop to free space on Google Photos
First, a brief summary of the situation. Google Photos currently offers two backup options for photos and videos: unlimited free high quality storage (i.e. with a slight compression), or original quality storage (without compression) at no cost up to 15 GB (shared between Google Photos, Gmail and Drive).
From June 1, 2021, both high quality and original quality backups will saturate the 15 GB free storage limit, making unlimited storage a thing of the past. Once you've reached the threshold, you'll have to free up space by deleting content, or sign up for one of Google One's subscription plans.
What to do today, May 31, 2021
The first thing to do today, May 31, 2021, in view of the significant change that will take place starting tomorrow, is to upload to Google Photos all the content that you may have forgotten to upload in the last few days. Not everyone, in fact, has kept active the automatic synchronization of photos and videos, so today is the last chance to upload photos and videos made recently.
Until midnight today is valid the formula that in recent years has decreed the success of Google Photos, that is the "upload what you want" with a slight compression. In addition, Google specifies, "videos and high-quality photos backed up before June 1, 2021 will not be counted for the purpose of calculating the storage space of the Google Account".
In other words, therefore, everything that has been accumulated over time on Google's servers through Photos, from tomorrow and in the following months will not contribute to reach the threshold of 15 GB or space that you might decide to buy through Google One.
On the other hand, those who have already uploaded all their recent content to the cloud and want to use the day to get ahead of tomorrow can already familiarize themselves with the storage management tool provided by Google, which will be a valuable ally in the coming months to make sure that the free 15 GB is enough.
From a computer just click on this link, from an Android or iOS smartphone you need to open the Google Photos app, log in to your Google account, tap on the profile photo in the top right corner and Photo Settings, then Backup and Sync and finally Manage Storage Space. Review and Delete is the best tool to evaluate what to keep and eliminate what can be sacrificed instead.