Google Photos users will have to pay for storage as search giant ends free backups

Emails, documents, photos, videos, and other files will all factor into a 15GB Google Drive cap

(Adam Smith / The Independent)

Google has announced that it will start charging users who back up their pictures and videos to Google Photos.

The change comes after five years of Google offering unlimited photo backups at “high quality”, which will now factor into Google Drive’s 15GB storage cap.

Photos backed up at their “original quality” already were a part of the 15GB cap, but by 1 June 2021 changes to Google Drive’s policy means that emails, photos, documents, spreadsheets, and more will all be factored in.

Any photos, videos, and documents that are uploaded before 1 June will not count towards the cap – only those that are uploaded after that date.

The search giant is adding tools to help people manage their storage, such as management features in Google Photos that make it easier to find and delete images users may not want to keep such as dark or blurry photos, as well as large videos.

Google will also show a “personalized estimate” of how long a user’s storage will last in terms of time, rather than gigabytes, estimating how long it will take for it to be filled.

“Over 80 percent of you should still be able to store roughly three more years worth of memories with your free 15GB of storage”, Google says.

For users who require more storage, Google is recommending signing up to its own Google One plan, which gives users 2TB of additional storage as well as VPN access and other small perks for a maximum of $10 per month.

Google is not the only company that is leveraging its storage spaces to encourage users to buy a subscription service.

Apple has been criticised for years for only offering 5GB of iCloud storage, which has been described as “offering a Siberian tiger a Tic Tac for dinner” because of the amount of data that most people’s photos and videos require.

That’s not to mention that the sizes of most applications are increasing with time, meaning that users have increasingly less on-device space for their files, photos, emails and videos and are forced to use online services.

Moreover, while users could swap to a different online photo storage company, competition is scarce. Many users lamented the change on Twitter with some describing it as a “bait and switch”.

Google has over one billion users on Photos, and its free, unlimited storage – subsidised by its other products - attracted customers more than companies like Everpix, Loom, and Picturelife, resulting in either closure or purchase. 

It is also possible that Google will start putting some of its editing features in Google Photos behind a paywall.

Inside the code for the latest update to Google Photos are references to users ‘unlocking’ features with a Google One subscription, as well as a specialist Colour Pop mode for subscribers.

The news comes as the US Justice Department is filing a lawsuit against Google, accusing it of abusing its size to harm consumers.

The company is accused of abusing its dominance of search and online services to stop competition to help itself.