Google Photos stops saying “high quality” for compressed photos. There is an important development for those who are considering leaving Google Photos after the free and unlimited storage space disappears on June 1. Google has taken some steps to help those who are undecided make decisions.
First of all, Google will no longer claim that its compressed, low-quality photos and videos are “High quality”. After June 1, existing Google Pixel phone owners will continue to store an unlimited number of “High quality” photos in Photos. However, if you are using a Samsung or iPhone instead, the storage of photos that are not actually “High quality” and Google finally says this is not the case will be deducted from 15 GB of free storage.
Soon, Google will store normal quality, compressed photos that it previously described as “High quality” under the “Storage saving” option. You will be able to upload your photos to the service with “Original quality” or “Storage saving”, which keeps more space. Of course, in either case, you will have run out of storage space.
What if you have a total of 2 GB documents and 10 GB of Gmail messages stored in Google Drive, and you have only 3 GB of space left to use before paying for photos? First of all, know that your existing “High quality” photos before June 1st are not included in the quota; however, a new tool from Google to help you find and delete blurry photos and large videos will help you free up even more space.
As you can see in the GIF above, you can find this in the “Manage storage” section of the application. Also, this tool helps you find and delete screenshots. In addition, Google is committed to notifying users who are approaching their quota. If you are logged in to your account, you can click here for a storage estimate.
How will it be after June 1 for Google Photos?
For those who are still confused, a summary will not be bad:
- Non-Pixel phone owners: Anything you install for free before June 1, 2021 will not count towards your 15 GB quota. After that, all the photos you upload will be deducted from your quota.
- Pixel 3A, Pixel 4, Pixel 4A, Pixel 5: Under the “Storage saving” option, all photos can be stored unlimitedly and free of charge. “Original quality” photos will be excluded from this scope.
- Pixel 3: Before January 1, 2022, photos and videos can be uploaded unlimitedly without deducting from the quota under the “Original quality” and “Storage saving” options. Unlimited storage will then only be available for “Storage saving”.
- Pixel 2: Unlimited “Original quality” option is available for photos uploaded before January 16, 2021. On the next date, unlimited and free downloads are available only for the “Storage saving” option.
- Pixel (2016): Unlimited “Original quality” photo and video uploads are offered until your phone is broken.
The possibilities listed above and available to current Google Pixel phones will not be available to future Google Pixel phones.
