Google Photos Ends Unlimited Free Storage. What Should You Do?

The day has come. Yesterday you could snap as many pictures as you wanted on your Pixel, Galaxy, or even iPhone, and be sure they would remain in the cloud. Today Google Photos stopped accepting photos beyond the quota of Google Drive you already have (except those you have uploaded earlier). Is it already time to panic? Or are there ways out? 

Well, the most obvious thing to do is subscribe to more Google Drive space (or expand your plan if you already have one). Not that it’s too expensive: the starting price is just $2/month for 100 GB, with other benefits like Play Store discounts. But there are other ways to spend even one buck. In addition, this change can push you to respond with your own changing attitude. 

So, what can you do? 

Turn Off Synchronization

It’s great to sync all your pictures and then remove some (if you want to). But what happens if you do it later at home, after deleting messed up ones and doubles? We guess you’re hardly risking a lot. Unless you are making your shootings under risky circumstances; then turn your syncing on, in case you lose your device. But this requires enough free space, so if you are not high in the mountains or among the protesting crowd with Molotov cocktails, you better not throw everything in. 

Review Your Photo Archives

That’s always a good idea. It does not mean you have to delete everything you can live without. No, you can just gradually download your archives, review them, and reupload what remains. By the way, it does not have to be Google Drive at all, if you already use OneDrive, Dropbox, iCloud, or whatever. 

Review the Rest of Your Google Drive Contents

What else do you store on your cloud drive, in addition to photos? We guess there’s a lot. What about documents you don’t need anymore? Videos you wanted to watch somewhere else and have already seen? Archives you shared with colleagues and friends? Attachments on Gmail? It’s time to go file-hunting.

When Does It Make Sense to Subscribe?

Okay, Google, we know you’re pushing us to Google One subscription. But what else does it bring, in addition to those gigabytes on GDrive? Why should we prefer this to, say, Microsoft 365, with 1 TB cloud drive, Skype business features, and MS Office licensed?

Well, here are the reasons:
·      VPN by Google. This provides you access to sites restricted in your country or, on the contrary, blocking visitors from it.
·      Original quality. With paid subscriptions, your pictures go up to the sky uncompressed. It’s precious if you want to edit and use them professionally.
·      Family sharing. You can share your cloud space with up to 5 persons, not letting them mess with each other’s data.
·      Google Play points you can use for purchasing apps and games and making in-app purchases as well.
·      Hotel discounts, if you travel a lot and book rooms via Google.

Any of these can be a good reason to switch to a paid account. All these benefits are available to all Google One users, regardless of the plan.