If you have already reached close to the limit of 15GB, and do not want to consider a paid plan yet, you can change the quality settings of the photos from Original to High. Users can also free up space by using storage management tools.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Google Photos will stop the free, unlimited storage of high-quality photos from tomorrow.
- Users can tweak some settings to free up storage and create space.
- Users can also consider Google One plans that start from Rs 130.
Starting June 1, which is tomorrow, Google Photos will stop the free, unlimited storage of high-quality photos. The existing high-quality photos and videos are exempt from this change and will not count towards the 15GB default storage that comes with a Google account. However, after tomorrow, the new high-quality photos and uncompressed original photos will count towards a user’s storage once the policy comes into effect.
If you have already reached close to the limit of 15GB, and do not want to consider a paid plan yet, you can change the quality settings of the photos from Original to High. Users can also free up space by using tools that Google has introduced for Google Photos to weed out unwanted photos and videos. Users can also do the same by going to the Manage Storage section in Google One.
According to Google, “the storage management tool surfaces photos or videos you might want to delete like blurry photos, screenshots and large videos so you can get the most out of your storage.”
To use the tool users should follow the given steps:
— Open Google Photos
— Click on the account icon on the right corner of the library section.
— Go to Account Storage.
— Tap on Manage Storage.
Users will be able to see new sections rolled out by Google including blurry photos which will then take them to the grid of snaps that are blurry or dark. It will also show unsupported videos that users can get rid of.
— Android users can tap on Menu and then select Free up space.
— To delete all the items from your phone, you need to tap Free up.
Another method to manage storage is to go to Google One Storage and select Manage Storage:
— Go to Google One.
— Select Manage Storage or Free up account Storage.
— Free up account storage from the Get your space back section.
— Here you will see deleted files from Google Drive, emails with large-sized attachments and spam emails that you can clear to create additional space.
–Select review and free data.
If users feel that their storage data is being used up, they can consider paid options which are as follows:
100GB: This storage plan by Google comes for Rs 130 a month and for Rs 1300 a year. This plan brings 100 GB storage, extra member benefits, the option to add family members, and access to Google experts.
200GB: This storage plan by Google comes for Rs 210 a month and for Rs 2100 a year. This plan brings 200 GB storage, extra member benefits, the option to add family members and access to Google experts.
2TB: This plan comes for Rs 650 a month and for Rs 6500 a year with additional benefits remaining the same. Google gives VPN services for this plan in the US and is likely to expand it to India.
Apple users can also get access to Google One on their iPhones or iPads. Alternatively, they can subscribe to the Apple One subscription which was introduced in India last year for Rs 195 and Rs 365 with 50GB and 200GB of storage respectively. The Apple One services are combined in one simple plan, including Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, and iCloud.
