Google, storage agreement revision, high-quality upload of photos subject to capacity consumption

On November 11th (local time), Google announced that it will revise the online storage terms for Google accounts on June 1st, 2021. High-quality uploads of the photo service "Google Photos" and files of Google Docs will consume online storage capacity.

When uploading photos and videos in Google Photos, you can select "high quality" (photos are reduced to 16MP, videos are reduced to 1080p) and "original quality" (original). does not consume In other words, you can manage your photos/videos in the cloud without any restrictions while maintaining the 15GB online storage capacity that can be used free of charge with your Google account. From June 1, next year, photos/videos uploaded in "high quality" or "express quality" will also be included in the items that use the storage capacity of the account. In addition, photos/videos uploaded before June 1st will be saved without using the storage capacity, so users who manage a lot of photos/videos with Google Photos will have free storage space in 2021. There will be no sudden drop or shortage on June 1st.

If you keep backing up photos and videos to Google Photos and your cloud storage usage reaches 15GB, you will need to move to Google One, which includes paid online storage. The Google One is $1.99/month for 100GB and $2.99/month for 200GB. According to Google, roughly 80% of Google Photos users took more than three years to reach 15GB. Google has an online tool that predicts how long you can continue to use your online storage capacity with your current service plan based on your usage habits. In June next year, we plan to provide a free tool that allows you to easily manage photos/videos backed up to the service with the Google Photos app. You will be able to check and delete photos that are too dark, photos that are out of focus, videos that consume storage, etc.

Apart from Google Photos, Google Docs documents, spreadsheets, slides, drawings, forms, and Jamboards will also consume storage space for files created and edited after June 1, 2021. You can use the web storage management tool or the "Google One" app to check the usage of your Google account's online storage, including unnecessary items in Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos, as well as large items.