Google Photos Storage Conundrum

For past so many years Google has been generous enough to provide unlimited storage to all its users, for free. We used this unlimited storage to keep our (very) precious photos and videos safe. World was a happy place and clicked gazillions of selfies without ever worrying about the Google photos storage, until…

Until 12^th November, when Google dropped a mail to all its users saying that 1^st June, 2021 marks the end of this entitlement. Let’s try to decipher why Google took such a step and more importantly, what does it mean to you?

Why Google, why?

Back in the day, when Google photos was never considered as a primary option to store and edit photos, Google took a brave step. They gave away free unlimited storage to all it’s users. And for obvious reasons, the market share skyrocketed. After all, who wants to clean up old junk photos because of lack of storage?

But then, things took an unexpected turn. Google Photos became an home to 4 trillion photos and videos. As a matter of fact, Google sees an influx of 4 billion photos per week. That’s massive right? So, to put it subtly, Google decided to “Change their storage Policy”

So What’s the change?

Starting from June 1^st, all your new photos and videos will be counted towards a limited storage of 15GB per user. This capping is not applicable to Google pixel device users (no prizes for guessing that).

Do I need to delete my old photos?

The short and sweet answer is NO. Google photos storage will not count your existing photos and videos in this storage. Which means, there is no change at your end for your existing photos and videos, its just that new media generated after 1^st June will not come under the gamut of unlimited storage any more.

Google has also been kind enough to create a personalized estimate to give you an idea of how long will 15GB last for you so that you can plan ahead.

Conclusion:

While some may say that this move by Google is a violation of competition ethics, I kind of agree. Google is doing away with the very USP they used, to lure crowds of people towards their platform. Now that they are tied up and can’t do much in terms of migration, Google drops this! Textbook definition of striking the iron when its hot. While I am not much into photography and its cloud storage aspect, I do understand the impact of this move on many. Not so happy Diwali by Google eh?

Until Next time..