Get ready to bid goodbye to unlimited free photo backups on Google Photos. Starting June 1, 2021, Google Photos will begin charging users who exceed the 15 GB cap. The change comes after five years of offering free and unlimited backups at high quality. "We launched Google Photos more than five years ago and since then, it's become more than just an app to manage your photos. It's become a place you go when you feel nostalgic and want to reminisce," Google wrote in an email to its customers announcing the storage update.
"Starting June 1, 2021, all new photos and videos backed up in High quality will count toward the free 15 GB of storage that comes with your Google," the company announced.
Additional storage may be purchased. However, photos and documents uploaded before June 1 will not count against the 15 GB cap. "All photos and videos you back up in High quality before June 1, 2021 are exempt from this change and will not count toward your Google Account storage," the company clarified.
The announcement led to a flood of memes and jokes on social media and set #GooglePhotos trending on Twitter. Take a look at how social media users reacted to the update on Google Photos storage:
#GooglePhotos charging for cloud storage now pic.twitter.com/2d7NhTsRvU
— Mr. Wolverine (@MayorWolverine) November 12, 2020
Google Photos starting to charge for high quality backup photos from June 2021#GooglePhotos
— Aditya Chaudhary???????? (@AdityaGameDev) November 12, 2020
Twitter Users be like : pic.twitter.com/NVlEkQHoFC
Hi Google Photos user,
— ⭕ (@Kosha_Official) November 11, 2020
We launched #GooglePhotos more than 5 years ago and now it's become a place you go when you feel nostalgic and want to reminisce.
That's why, starting June 1st 2021, we will charge you for that nostalgia! ????
Yours sincerely,
Your Google Photos Team
#GooglePhotos going to end it's unlimited storage.
— Ishaan Singh (@IshaanSingh010) November 12, 2020
Meanwhile me who never used Google photos: pic.twitter.com/8OA6OyEC0f
#GooglePhotos will end its free unlimited storage on June 1st, 2021
— ℬhavna ȿingh ???? (@iBhavnaSingh) November 12, 2020
Traditional Storage Devices:
"You guys backup photos????????????"
(never have i ever trusted cloud backing ????) https://t.co/02BxCYvnPU pic.twitter.com/WzvLrvys8b
#GooglePhotos the era of free cloud storage going to be over
— ????It's Creation???? (@srushtii_here) November 12, 2020
Le me: thinking thanks fr this one more news in 2020 ???? pic.twitter.com/82wLcaaxMJ
For users who are considering moving their images from Google Photos to other services, there are several options. Some of the choices include Amazon Photos, Apple's iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Flicker, and OneDrive. You can click here to learn more about the process of exporting your media files.
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