(ABC4) – If you use Google Photos be prepared — you may have to start paying to store your photos and videos.
Starting Tuesday, June 1, you will only have 15 GB of free storage to use. If you need more space, it will cost you.
In November, Google announced the change to its photo service, saying more than 4 trillion photos are stored within it, with 28 billion new photos and videos uploaded each week.
“Since so many of you rely on Google Photos to store your memories, it’s important that it’s not just a great product, but also continues to meet your needs over the long haul,” the company said in the announcement. “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.”
Starting on June 1, any new photos and videos you upload will count toward the free 15 GB of storage that comes with every Google Account, or the additional storage you have already purchased as a Google One member. The storage in your Google Account is shared across Drive and Gmail as well.
Google says this change “allows us to keep pace with the growing demand for storage.”
Any photos or videos you have already uploaded to Google Photos in high quality will not count toward your free storage. If you back up your photos and videos in original quality, these changes do not affect you as they already count toward your 15 GB of free storage.
If you have a Google Pixel 1-5, photos uploaded from your device will not be impacted by the change.
Google estimates over 80% of users should be able to store roughly three more years’ worth of memories with the 15 GB of free storage. If you are nearing your 15 GB maximum, Google will notify you in the app and with a follow-up email.
Not sure how close you are to reaching that storage capacity? Google offers a personalized estimate for how long your storage may last, which considers how frequently you back up photos, videos and other content.
How to check your Google Photos storage and review images, videos you may want to delete (Google)
A new feature available in the Photos app also gives you the chance to manage your backed-up photos and videos, helping you review those you may want to keep and those you may want to delete, like dark or blurry photos or large videos.
If you want more space, you can expand your storage with Google One, with plans starting at $1.99 a month for 100 GB of storage. For more information, click here.