Starting June 1, 2021, Google will place a cap on the number of original, high resolution images a user can store on its cloud based back-up service. This move is being done by the company to somehow protect their revenue as it continues to invest on cloud storage systems. Currently, all Google accounts come with a free 15 GB storage that includes Google Drive files and Google Photos. Any new uploaded images, videos and files beginning June next year will be counted against the 15 GB free storage. If the user goes over the allocated free storage, there will be an additional charge starting at $2 per month.
Tech Radar: Users who are exempt from the changes: if you own any Pixel smartphone, from the original through to the brand new Pixel 5
Starting on June 1, 2021, any newly uploaded images will instead count towards the free 15GB of cloud storage that comes with every Google Account, Tech Radar reports.
Any ‘high quality’ photos or videos you upload to the service before the June 1 deadline will not count towards that 15GB storage cap, even after the new rules come into play.
But if you own any Pixel smartphone, from the original through to the brand new Pixel 5, you can continue uploading and storing as many high quality snaps and videos as you’d like without it contributing to your quota.
New York Post: “Growing demand for storage” means Google Photos can no longer honor a years-old policy of unlimited capacity for high-quality images.
Wired.com: Your existing “high-quality” photos and videos won’t apply to the 15-GB limit, nor will any that you upload through next May
Wired.com explains that all Google accounts come with 15 GB of free storage, which you eat up with Gmail messages and attachments, Google Drive files, and Google Photos uploaded at their original size. All of that still applies. But you’ve had an option to this point to let Google resize your photos to a 16-megapixel maximum when you upload them. Those photos, as well as videos that top out at 1080p resolution, have not counted against that 15-GB cap. As of June 1, 2021, new uploads of any size will.
The good news: This means your existing “high-quality” photos and videos won’t apply to the 15-GB limit, nor will any that you upload through next May.
