Google Photos finally stops pretending its compressed photos are high quality – The Verge

Are you planning to stick with Google Photos when its free unlimited storage disappears on June 1st? If youre anything like me, youre probably still struggling to figure out whether you can afford to procrastinate that decision a tad longer and today, Google has made that reckoning a little bit easier.

First off, the companys finally telling it like it is: Google will no longer pretend its compressed, lower-quality photos and videos are High quality, something that would have saved me a lengthy explanation just last week! (After June 1st, existing Google Pixel phone owners still get unlimited High quality photos, but if youre on, say, a Samsung or iPhone instead, its not like there was ever a Normal quality photo that doesnt count against the new 15GB limit.)

Soon, Storage saver will be the name for Googles normal-quality photos, formerly known as High quality. Youll be able to upload at either the Storage saver or Original quality tiers, both of which will count against your storage quota, with Original quality using more data.

What if youve already got 10GB worth of Gmail and 2GB of documents stored in a Google Drive like yours truly, leaving just 3GB left for photos before youll need to pay? First off, know that your existing High quality photos before June 1st dont count against the quota but also, Google has a new tool to help you find and delete blurry photos and large videos to help you free up even more space.

You can find it in the Manage storage section of the app, as you can see in the GIF above. Itll also help you find and delete screenshots, though thats been a feature of Google Photos for a while now. Google also promises to notify users who are nearing their quota, and you can click here for a storage estimate if youre logged into your account.

Still confused, perhaps? I wouldnt blame you; it took a while for me to get it all straight in my head, particularly considering that Google offers different levels of grandfathered free storage depending on which Pixel phone you own. Heres an attempt to condense that info for you:

Future Google phones wont have these perks: existing Pixels will be the last to come with free unlimited High quality uploads, Google confirmed to The Verge in November.

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Google Photos finally stops pretending its compressed photos are high quality - The Verge