Google Photos has been one of the prime options for almost all your needs in an enhanced experience in saving and viewing your photos. After hooking the users with free storage for over five years, the service is now changing. You will no longer get the free backup storage on Google Photos anymore. The unlimited storage space option available on Google Photos will no longer be available.
What is this all about Google Photo Storage?
Google will now restrict the free usage of Google Photos on all platforms. If you have been using Google Photos, you should be aware of the free unlimited storage space that lets you save high-quality copies of your photos for free on your Google account. The service will no be phased out on June 1, 2021.
Google made the announcement about the impending change in the Google Photo storage limit through its recent blog post. Come June 1, 2021, and all the photos and videos you upload to your backup service on Google Photos will count towards your free storage of 15 GB. Thee is a silver lining, though- all the photos and videos that you will be uploading up to the date will not be affected by the new cap introduced.
The Google blog post indicated that there are over 4 trillion photos saved on Google Photos. It has been revealed that there are over 28 billion photos, and videos are being uploaded to the service per week. Google finds it quite expensive to manage the huge storage and this is one of the reasons it is seemingly looking ahead to change its policy on unlimited storage space on Google Photos.
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The Netizen’s reactions
As expected, this move from Google invited wrath from angry users. Especially since the last five years, there have been hundreds of users that have flocked to Google Photos for the sole reason that it offered free storage for backing up the images. In fact, Google Photos has more than a billion users as of date.
All these users have begun feeling disturbed and feeling betrayed. In fact, Google had hinted that the service would remain live forever. It may be remembered that when the service was launched in 2015, Anil Sabharwal, Google Photos’ then-head, said in a blog post back then – “Google Photos gives you a single, private place to keep a lifetime of memories, and access them from any device,…. And when we say a lifetime of memories, we really mean it.”
If you remember that and if you can get that blog post, you will indeed find that it is a huge betrayal for the users who wanted to use the service forever.
Should you stop using Google Photos?
So, with this change, should you stop using Google Photos altogether? Not really. If you are looking to continue using Google Photos, you can opt for the additional storage. In fact, the move from Google is seen as its attempt to encourage users to opt for its Google One storage. And this is precisely what has been angering the die-hard Google fans.
If you are unaware, Google One is a Google storage subscription service. The basic plan comes with a pricing of $2 per month for 100 GB of storage. Google has stated that the plan also comes with a few additional services, such as Google Store discounts.
Or if you find it not to be a good option, you can choose to go with the Google Photos alternatives. We will check out a few Google Photos alternative options here so that, just in case you decide not to leave Google, you can make use of these services.
Best Google Photos Alternatives
Having understood the recent announcement from Google with respect to the upcoming policy change on Google Photo Storage, here are a few options you would find impressive.
1. Amazon Photos
If you have loved the truly unlimited storage offered by Google Photos so far, Amazon Photos should be an excellent option for your needs. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can indeed go with the free unlimited storage with Amazon Photos.
Amazon Photos is part of the unlimited cloud storage, but limited to photos. You can store up to 5 GB of data and pay up for any data above it. While it may not be as good as some of the features available on Google Photos, you would find the features such as keyword search a great option in the long run. You can even share it with six of your family members. However, if you do not continue with the Prime subscription, you will lose access to the service, and even your photos will be deleted.
2. Dropbox
Dropbox is a top-rated cloud storage service. It can be one of the excellent options for your needs in a Google Photos alternative. You can simply configure it correctly. It can be your best option for the best option for the best option to save your photos. You can simply sync your photos automatically to a secure location on the cloud.
However, you will get only 2 GB of storage as part of your free plan. Compared to the 15 GB storage available on Google, this can be a tough choice. Even the paid plans are quite expensive. However, the security features offered by the tool can be one of the prime factors in its favor.
3. Flickr
Before Google Photos came onto the scene, Flickr and similar services were ruling the roost as the best options for your photo storage. While it was designed as an excellent option for photographers to showcase their art, it can also be a great tool to go if you are looking for the best alternative to Google Photos.
It can be configured to auto-sync your photos. It can also be an excellent option to upload your selected photos manually. You can keep your photos and videos private and visible only to you or someone you want to share them with. The organization of the photos is one of the best features we found on the tool. The free plan lets you store up to 1000 photos. Unlimited storage will cost you $7 a month.
4. OneDrive
OneDrive is the cloud storage from Microsoft. if you are using Microsoft’s Microsoft 365 service, you will get access to 1 TB of storage per user. It can be an excellent service for you if you are a business user. It can be one of the excellent options for your needs in providing you a reliable Google Photos alternative.
The free version is limited to 5GB of storage. You can bump the storage up to 100 GB for just $2 a month. If you are using Microsoft apps and services, this can be your best bet for almost all your needs in an enhanced cloud storage service quality.
That was about a few of the best Google Photos alternative options you can check out. While it is quite disheartening to find Google discontinuing one of the most popular services that have kept several users glued to it, it may be equally good to find that there are several options available for the best alternatives to Google Photos.
Which among them, do your think would want to opt for? Share your inputs with us.
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