Skip to main content

Google Photos

See All Stories

Google Photos unlimited storage is ending — How to get the most out of free and paid tiers

Six years after its debut, Google Photos is about to change in a major way. Free, unlimited storage on Google Photos is going away at the start of June, taking away one of the platform’s most attractive offers. That doesn’t change all of the other valuable tools Google offers, though. Here’s how you can still get the most out of it.

Expand Expanding Close
google photos pixel

Google Pixel owners will still get these Google Photos storage perks going forward

Google Photos is ending its perk of free unlimited storage starting on June 1, 2021. It was a huge selling point for the service for years, which, understandably, has many wishing they could keep it. The good news, though, is that Google Pixel owners will still be eligible for a few Photos perks. Let’s break it down.

Expand Expanding Close
google photos out of sync prompt

Annoying ‘out-of-sync’ Google Photos prompts on non-Pixel devices may go away w/ Android 12

The arrival of Android 11 brought with it the effects of Scoped Storage which, on phones that weren’t Pixels, also led to an annoying Google Photos quirk that included more prompts and “out-of-sync” warnings. On Android 12, those annoying trash prompts and more will be gone for Google Photos users on all devices.

Expand Expanding Close

Google Photos to add more personalized Memories collections, 3D Cinematic photos

A really neat part of the machine learning algorithms used by Google Photos is the ability to identify similar core image traits and create the popular — and constantly evolving — Memories collections. During the I/O 2021 keynote, Google confirmed that Memories collections are set to get even more personalized, and we’ll even get 3D enhanced Cinematic photos joining the mix.

Expand Expanding Close

[Update: Just new branding] Google Photos preps ‘Storage saver’ tier for Pixel [APK Insight]

Google next month will stop providing unlimited free backup in Photos. Although existing Pixel phones are exempted, future devices — as of today — will miss out on a great perk that helps emphasize the camera. An update to Google Photos today reveals apparent work on a new “Storage saver” tier that will be “free and unlimited” for Pixel.

Expand Expanding Close