When Google launched Google Photos, it seemed like we were facing the definitive online storage system. allowed save unlimited images and videos, with compression so good that the quality was barely lost. It used our Gmail account, so there was no need to create new records, it was able to search by faces, environments and objects… Too good to be true? The truth is yes, because Google has radically changed one of its greatest advantages: free and unlimited access.
Unexpectedly, Google decided that Google Photos accounts would no longer have storage independent of Gmail accounts. This implied that the space of said email accounts, 15 GB, would be used not only for emails and their attachments, but also for videos and photos that we had hosted in Google Photos.
The reality is that in 2020, when the change happened, not everyone had filled those 15 GB, but being sure that the space was unlimited, many had saved there not only important photos, but all kinds of blurry images, social media memes, etc. Currently More and more users see how the system warns them that their space is almost full., your images and videos will not be saved on the cloud. With these tips, the payment deadline will be delayed.
Review the photos from time to time
The first tip is quite obvious, simple, but which few people follow, out of laziness or forgetfulness. It is periodically review images saved in the account. It is not obligatory to do this daily, especially if you are not used to taking photos daily, but doing it once a week, for example, is practical.
In this way, it is possible to detect photos saved by mistake, like screenshots on Samsung phones, which are stored automatically. You can also delete images that were taken to send via social media or messaging apps but were taken with the mobile camera and not the app camera and were also saved .
Create albums in Google Photos
By spending a few minutes a day or a little more a week You can guarantee that the saved images and videos are the most important and there is no waste that takes up precious MB space in the account. You can even consider doing it once a month, but the important thing is to do it periodically.
Do not link WhatsApp
Many people have photos of their family or friends not because they took them, but because They come to you from WhatsApp. It is possible to link the folder of images received by this application to Google Photos, so that they are saved automatically, but this can also be problematic.
If all the images and videos that arrive by email are stored, it is possible that sooner or later prank videos, TikTok reposts or memes end up in our Google Photos account. If these images are not generally received, it may not be a problem to link the account, but If what you receive are mainly these images, it is better not to do this.. Additionally, you can always share received photos with Google Photos using Android’s sharing menu.
Save only important photos
When you go on a trip, you usually take the opportunity to take photos and videos. When cameras were analog, the number of images taken was limited. You had to pay for the reels, then for the development, and maybe for the albums. Currently, the cost of taking a photo is minimal, so It is not uncommon to go on a trip and save several hundred photos.
If account space is limited It’s not a bad idea to keep only the ones we like the most, maybe 20 or 30 from each trip, instead of a hundred or more which, ultimately, will never be seen. This especially applies to videos, which take up much more space than images.
Image Compression
When you first create a Google account The system asks you if you want to download the images in full resolution or in compressed form, so that they take up less space. Google’s compression algorithm leaves them at 16MP, with minimal quality loss, so it’s always good to make this choice if there isn’t much space.
Of course, if you change phones, sometimes the system changes and requires photos to be stored at maximum resolution, so it’s important to check that the settings are correct. To do this, you must enter the Google Photos Settingsin the avatar in the upper right corner, then select Security copy and after Backup quality. You need to select the Storage Saver option.
In the end, it will be paid… or not
It is important to point out that with limited space, this 15 GB, it is only a matter of time before it ends up filling up, unless the old photos are deleted, but this is not not something people want to do. The current cost of this service is acceptable, around 2 dollars per month in its 100 GB version. Sooner or later you will have to pay, unless you change supplier.
There are Open Source alternatives to Google Photos, and others that many people have subscribed to but do not use, such as Amazon Photos, included in Amazon Prime in Europe. The biggest drawback of this platform is that it allows you to save unlimited photos, but videos They are counted separately, and if many are saved at the end, a payment rate will have to be contracted.
In any case, it is always advisable to store the photos in an online service, but also on a physical hard drive at home. It’s something that serves as a backup in case you lose access to the Google Photos account, and cloud backup is useful in case something goes wrong at home, like theft, fire, or flood.
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