Google ends unlimited free photo storage: Here are alternatives for you with pricing
Google Photos has ended itsfree, limitless storage on June 1 after years of delivering unlimited free photo backups.
This Google-developed photo sharing and storage service was unveiled in May 2015, and is a spinoff of Google+, the company's discontinued social network.
End of free storage:What does it mean?
Except for existing Pixel phones, any freshly uploaded photo or video counts towards the 15 GB, free storage limitation shared across the user's Google services as of June 1, 2021, in its free tier.
What happens to photos in existing storage?
Existing high-quality photographs and movies are exempt from the change, according to Google.
Any photos or movies backed up in high quality before June 1, 2021, will not be counted against the user's Google account storage.
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These photographs and videos will continue to be free and will not be counted towards the storage limit.
Google One plans for extra storage
If users need more space, they will have to pay for Google One plans that start at $2 per month for 100GB of Google Drive space and scale to 2TB for $10 per month.
Google has also made it easier to delete unwanted photos through a tool that finds blurry snapshots, screenshots and other items users can usually remove.
'Save to Photos' option
In a couple of weeks, regular Gmail users and subsribers of Google Workspace, G Suite Basic, and G Suite Business will be able to use the new 'Save to Photos' option, which is currently only available for photographs in JPEG format.
Google recently released a new tool that allows Gmail users to easily move emailed photographs from their accounts to Google Photos.
Some good alternatives toGoogle Photos
Those users still looking for a free service can use the no-cost tiers for services like Dropbox or Flickr if you have a modest collection. But we are sharing a few better alternative for Google Photos.
iDrive: One of the best Google Photos alternatives with high-capacity at a low cost
pCloud: A good substitute for image security
Microsoft OneDrive: A much better overall cloud storage platform
Adobe Creative Cloud: Great for existing Adobe customers
Apple Photos: The best Google Photos alternative for Apple loyalists