Google has revealed that it would start charging Photos users who exceed 15GB, beginning 1 June 2021. The cloud service, which stores more than 4 trillion photos, will not count photos that have already been uploaded towards the 15GB limit.
“This change allows us to keep pace with the growing demand for storage,” says Google Photos VP, Shimrit Ben-Yair. “We know this is a big shift and may come as a surprise, so we wanted to let you know well in advance and give you resources to make this easier.”
In an official statement, Google says “Starting June 1, 2021, 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’ve purchased as a Google One member. Your Google Account storage is shared across Drive, Gmail and Photos. This change also allows us to keep pace with the growing demand for storage.”
The tech giant goes on to say that “any photos or videos you’ve uploaded in High quality before June 1, 2021, will not count toward your 15GB of free storage. This means that photos and videos backed up before June 1, 2021, will still be considered free and exempt from the storage limit.”
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According to the company, Photos users “don’t need to do anything right now” as the change will only come into effect in six months. “And once this change does take effect, over 80% of you should still be able to store roughly three more years worth of memories with your free 15 GB of storage. As your storage nears 15 GB, we will notify you in the app and follow up by email.”
