Google Photos doesn’t offer unlimited free storage, which means you might run out of space. Luckily, Google has some easy-to-use tools to help you maximize the storage space you have, whether it’s free or not. Here’s how to identify image types and clear your photo storage.
Wait, no more free storage?
Google stopped offering unlimited free storage on June 1, 2021. Before that, you could upload unlimited photos and videos in “High Quality”. That meant 16 megapixels for photos and 1080p video.
Now all those photos and videos count towards your storage space, which is 15GB if you don’t subscribe to Google One. This 15 GB is also shared between Google Photos, Drive and Gmail. The “High Quality” storage tier is now called “Storage Saver”.
One important thing to note is that any photos and videos you backed up to Google Photos before June 1, 2021, not account for your cloud storage.
Soon: What is Google One and is it worth paying for more storage?
Manage Google Photo Storage
First, open the Google Photos app on your iPhone, iPad, or android phone or tablet. Tap your profile icon in the upper right corner.
Select “Account Storage” from the menu.
Depending on your device, you may need to tap “Manage Storage” before continuing.
On the next screen, you will see a graph showing how much storage space you are using. It will even estimate how long it will take you to complete it.
Below that is a section titled “Review and Delete”. This is where you can maximize your storage space by cleaning things up. Select one of the categories, such as “Screenshots”.
From here, you can tap and hold to select multiple photos and videos to move to the trash.
When you’re done selecting, tap the trash can icon in the top right corner.
Confirm that you want to delete the selected photos and videos by selecting the “Move to Trash” button.
That’s all we can say about it! If you often find yourself within Google’s storage limits, but don’t want to shell out for Google One, this is a good method to make sure you’re not wasting space unnecessarily. Make the most of your Google Photos storage!
