How to free up space on your Google account ?

Life will change a lot in your Google account soon. Let’s find out what you need to organise in order to be able to still benefit the most from its great advantages.

What’s been changed on Google Photos on the 1st June?

On Google Photos, each user has 15 GB of free storage by default. Until then, only photos saved in “original quality” counted towards free storage. Google Photos hosted “high quality” photos, compressed to 16 megapixels and videos compressed in high definition free of charge.

A storage limited to 15 GB for all photos and videos

As of June 1, 2021, all photos and videos saved in Google Photos count towards the 15 GB of storage by default. This now includes “high quality” photos and videos, a parameter mostly chosen by users for saving their images on the platform. The following are also deducted from your storage space: documents hosted on Google Drive and emails on Gmail. This change is also valid for users who have subscribed to a paid subscription for an extension of their storage space via Google One.

Please note: All photos and videos saved in high quality before June 1 are not counted.

A personalized estimate of your storage

To support its users in this change, Google Photos has implemented a personalized estimate of the available storage space. It is thus possible to monitor the filling level of your space. The app also gives an approximation of the number of months or years before you run out of your available gigabytes. This estimate is based on how often you back up content to your Google Account.

Google specifies that in some cases, the estimated remaining time of your storage space will not be visible:

• if you have not regularly backed up content over the past few months,
• if you are approaching the limit of your storage space,
• if you are using an account provided by your business, school, family or other group,
• if you run out of storage space.

The count of free storage space on Google © Google

After this change is implemented, when you approach your available storage limit, Google will notify you on the app and by email. Once the limit is reached and without any action on your part, your photos will no longer be saved on the application.

You will be able to opt for an extension of your storage space via the offers offered by Google One. Alternatively, you can now choose another storage solution.

Free up storage space on Google

Google does not intend to leave its users without a solution to the change in Google Photos storage rules.

A new free tool to manage your storage quota

In June, Google has been rolling out a new tool that allows you to access blurry, dark, or low-quality photos that you might want to delete. It will group them together and it will then be possible to delete several photos at once. The goal: to make space easily and efficiently.

Clean up in Gmail and Google Drive

This new Google tool will help you sort your photos and make room : Storage Manager is an effective tool for freeing up space. It lists emails or large documents, it gives you the ability to examine and delete massively:

• unwanted emails or emails placed in the trash but which have not been permanently deleted in Gmail,
• emails with large attachments,
• large files hosted on Google Drive,
• but also videos not compatible with Google Photos but which fill the space.

To access this manager, download or go through the Google One application. In the “Storage space” tab and below your space fill gauge, click “Free up account storage” to access items to review and delete.

Google One is also accessible through a browser. Connect your Google account to access an interface similar to that of the application. Click on the “Storage” tab on the left of the screen, in “Reclaim your storage space” click on “Free up account storage space”.

Google Photos’ unlimited free storage has ended, but I hope these descriptions and instructions can help you to find a solution to this problem. Or at least, to think through your archiving strategy and save only the photos that you will actually open to see in the future.

At Swiss Tomato digital agency in Geneva, we love using Google tools to organise documents and images related to each project. By experience, we can only suggest you to do a general clean up too to free up space and mind… And then let’s find a way to figure out how to realize your next digital idea!