Starting June 1, 2020, Google Photos will end its free unlimited storage service. Now, after five years of high-quality limitless free photo backups, users have to pay up to get more than 15 GB.
As The Verge reported, the implementation is likely to encourage people to sign up for Google One storage. Google servers simply couldn't process all the photos and videos uploaded to Google Photos due to its overwhelming size, but the service must be maintained well.
However, on the company's blog, Google announces that anything saved before June 1, 2020, will not be counted towards the free 15 GB of storage. Only photos and videos that are stored after the date will count.
"In order to welcome even more of your memories and build Google Photos for the future, we are changing our unlimited high quality storage policy," the statement reads.
The new policy will warn users who have been inactive for the past two years. In that case, Google will send them multiple warning emails about inactivity before subsequently removing their data.
As a bonus for Google device buyers, it's also worth noting that pictures from any Pixel smartphone device will not be impacted by this limitation.
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How Much Does a Google One Subscription Cost?
Google One starts from only $1.99 per month for 100 GB, $2.99/month for 200 GB, $9.99/month for 2 TB, and the priciest is $149.99/month for a whopping 30 TB. Every subscription plan comes with an option to add up to 5 family members, access to Google experts, and extra member benefits.
A couple of new features will be rolled out later. Google will show a 'personal estimate' of how much longer storage will last depending on its user's average uploads overtime. Instead of GB, the estimate will be measured in time to give users more ideas on which Google One plan suits them.
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Google One also offers a VPN security service, which lets users protect their online activity. For some higher-rated plans, the VPN comes for free on Android devices. Another feature that may come in handy is its automatic scan for blurry-looking pictures and letting users remove them in only one click.
Google Photos was launched in 2015 as a way to 'give everyone a private place to keep all their photos and videos.' The service has grown over time, and it has become a place where people safely lock their memories but with features that make them searchable in just one click.
David Lieb, the Product Lead of Google Photos, revealed that over 1 billion people have relied on the service, with 28 billion photos and videos uploaded every week. A record of over 4 trillion photos and videos have been uploaded.
Well, goodbye, free storage. It was fun while it lasted.
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