Google Photos will end its free unlimited storage in June 2021 • Hacker News Board

Re: Google Photos will end its free unlimited storage in June 2021

#51

Post by pkulak » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 6:39 PM UTC

ugh123 wrote: post #22

I think Google is missing a clear opportunity to compete with Instagram and the like. Google Photos is nearly default on just about every new and recent android phone in the world and its "partner" sharing feature (limited to just 1 partner) resembles a private IG-like share experience. Imagine having that breadth of user base already active in your app but not simply adding a public network around it (with adequate…

Please no. Photos is where I put _all_ my photos. I don't want any social complexity layered on at all, ever. I'll gladly pay for the dumb storage solution they've got now (and, in fact, I do).

Re: Google Photos will end its free unlimited storage in June 2021

#52

Post by speedgoose » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 6:39 PM UTC

ISL wrote: post #12

speedgoose wrote: post #4

Tldr: low quality but unlimited storage is expensive, so it will go away in June. However everything uploaded before will not use space for some time. High quality storage has never been unlimited so no changes. A Google Photos storage policy update I would love to read is some guarantee that I can download a backup of my photos if my Google account gets blocked for some reasons.

The way to guarantee the latter is to make your own periodic backups.

But then these is almost no point to use Google Photos.

Re: Google Photos will end its free unlimited storage in June 2021

#53

Post by chrismeller » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 6:40 PM UTC

hackily wrote: post #18

> If you have a Pixel 1-5, photos uploaded from that device won’t be impacted. Photos and videos uploaded in High quality from that device will continue to be exempt from this change, even after June 1, 2021. All good things come to an end, but at least they still honor the promise they made with the Pixel phones.

Somehow I suspect that is less about fulfilling their promise to the consumer and more about “let’s not piss off regulators in any more ways than they already are”...

Re: Google Photos will end its free unlimited storage in June 2021

#54

Post by cactus2093 » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 6:40 PM UTC

Well, it was bound to happen eventually. Nice of them to announce so far in advance and let existing content stay free for now, and that should help them avoid an abrupt exodus.

This seems like a big win for Apple though, especially with their new focus on services. As with other apps like maps, they’ve by now basically caught up with Google who had started off with a huge lead. When Google photos first launched with facial and object recognition and ability to search photos without ever tagging them, it was pretty incredible but now that’s basically table stakes.

For any iPhone and Mac users who haven’t been paying specifically for cloud photo storage and will now need to, I don’t really see much reason to stick with google photos over the native solution using iCloud or Apple One. I’m sure that’s what I’ll do eventually.

Re: Google Photos will end its free unlimited storage in June 2021

#55

Post by advisedwang » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 6:40 PM UTC

Sad as I am to see "unlimited" go away, this is probably the best way to do it:

* Grandfathering existing photos means I don't have to worry about going back and deleting objects or getting an sudden bump in cost.

* 15 GB is pretty generous... iCloud includes 5GB for free.

* $2/month isn't a huge jump to the next level of storage.

Re: Google Photos will end its free unlimited storage in June 2021

#56

Post by ianhowson » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 6:40 PM UTC

speedgoose wrote: post #4

Tldr: low quality but unlimited storage is expensive, so it will go away in June. However everything uploaded before will not use space for some time. High quality storage has never been unlimited so no changes. A Google Photos storage policy update I would love to read is some guarantee that I can download a backup of my photos if my Google account gets blocked for some reasons.

Keep in mind that the photos you download from Takeout have the GPS data stripped out, so (sibling commentors) already have an incomplete backup.

PhotoSync (https://www.photosync-app.com/home.html) lets you do a good-old-fashioned dump to a NAS.

Re: Google Photos will end its free unlimited storage in June 2021

#57

Post by arkanciscan » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 6:40 PM UTC

chrismeller wrote: post #50

ffpip wrote: post #40

Google is 100% running out of space. Google Photos no longer unlimited - https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/11/21560810/google-photos-u... GSuite no longer unlimited - https://9to5google.com/2020/10/08/google-workspace-drive-sto... Google Drive to delete trash after 30 days. Before, it stored till you perma deleted - https://gsuiteupdates.googleblog.com/2020/09/drive-trash-aut... Google Docs to be counted as storage sp…

More like “tapping that lucrative subscription revenue” because they finally have enough people locked in

That's my cue to start self-hosting again!

Re: Google Photos will end its free unlimited storage in June 2021

#58

Post by speedgoose » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 6:40 PM UTC

ggm wrote: post #11

speedgoose wrote: post #4

Tldr: low quality but unlimited storage is expensive, so it will go away in June. However everything uploaded before will not use space for some time. High quality storage has never been unlimited so no changes. A Google Photos storage policy update I would love to read is some guarantee that I can download a backup of my photos if my Google account gets blocked for some reasons.

> A Google Photos storage policy update I would love to read is some guarantee that I can download a backup of my photos if my Google account gets blocked for some reasons. This doesn't exist. But you can schedule a year of e.g. 2 monthly incremental takeouts at takeout.google.com and stop-limit your dataloss scenario to a window. btw: I think it should exist. I think google should clarify its 'we terminated you' pro…

I don't want to have to backup the data myself. I pay Google so they can backup my photos.

Re: Google Photos will end its free unlimited storage in June 2021

#59

Post by londons_explore » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 6:40 PM UTC

speedgoose wrote: post #4

Tldr: low quality but unlimited storage is expensive, so it will go away in June. However everything uploaded before will not use space for some time. High quality storage has never been unlimited so no changes. A Google Photos storage policy update I would love to read is some guarantee that I can download a backup of my photos if my Google account gets blocked for some reasons.

> low quality but unlimited storage is expensive

I guarantee Google still makes money from those users. Google Photos adds value to the Google ecosystem, attracting more users and more paying users. The more history you have stored with Google, the harder it is to move. It also promotes other Google services users do pay for.

I'd guess this is a move by someone in middle management to increase revenues for their product, without seeing the bigger picture, where this move probably has negative shareholder value.

Re: Google Photos will end its free unlimited storage in June 2021

#60

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 6:41 PM UTC

chrismeller wrote: post #50

ffpip wrote: post #40

Google is 100% running out of space. Google Photos no longer unlimited - https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/11/21560810/google-photos-u... GSuite no longer unlimited - https://9to5google.com/2020/10/08/google-workspace-drive-sto... Google Drive to delete trash after 30 days. Before, it stored till you perma deleted - https://gsuiteupdates.googleblog.com/2020/09/drive-trash-aut... Google Docs to be counted as storage sp…

More like “tapping that lucrative subscription revenue” because they finally have enough people locked in

[deleted]