Does Google Photos Take Up Storage and How to Manage It

Google Photos can take up a significant amount of storage space, especially if you have a large collection of photos and videos.

If you're using the free version of Google Photos, you have 15 GB of free storage, which can be quickly filled up if you're not careful.

To give you an idea of just how quickly storage can fill up, consider this: a 4K video can take up around 100 MB of storage, while a 16-megapixel photo can take up around 10 MB.

In the article, we'll explore how Google Photos takes up storage and provide tips on how to manage it.

Google Photos can take up a significant amount of storage space, but there are some things you should know about how it works.

You get 15 GB of free storage with your Google Account, which is shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. This means that the photos and videos you back up to Google Photos will count towards your overall storage limit.

If you have a Pixel 5 or earlier, you receive unlimited storage for photos and videos backed up from your device at no charge. This is a great perk if you're a Pixel user and take a lot of photos.

Any photos or videos backed up in High quality or Express quality before June 1, 2021, don't count towards your Google Account storage. This means that if you've already backed up a lot of photos and videos before this date, they won't count towards your storage limit.

You can use the storage management tool to see how much storage space you have left and estimate how long your storage may last. This tool will also help you identify photos and videos that are taking up a lot of space and suggest deleting them.

Here are some reasons why you might not see an estimate of how long your storage may last:

If you're out of storage or over quota, you won't be able to back up additional photos and videos. If you're over quota for 2 years, your content in Google Photos may be deleted.

Intriguing read: Google Storage Quota

You have 15 GB of storage space for your Google Account, which is shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. This storage space is a great perk, but it can fill up quickly if you're a heavy user of Google Photos.

Photos and videos backed up in High quality or Express quality before June 1, 2021, don't count toward your Google Account storage. However, if you've backed up photos and videos in Original quality or Storage Saver quality, they will count toward your storage space.

You can use the storage management tool to check how much storage space you have left and estimate how long your storage may last. This tool will also help you review items that count toward your storage space, such as blurry photos, screenshots, and large videos.

If you're close to your storage limit, you won't be able to back up additional photos and videos. In fact, if you're over quota for 2 years, your content in Google Photos may be deleted. So, it's essential to manage your storage space effectively.

Recommended read: Filter Google Photos by Original Quality and Storage Saver

To free up storage space, you can delete items that count toward your storage quota, such as blurry photos, screenshots, and large videos. You can also compress your photos and videos using Storage Saver mode, which reduces their quality but saves storage space.

Here are some options to free up storage space on Google Photos:

By following these tips, you can manage your storage space effectively and continue to enjoy the benefits of Google Photos without running out of storage space.

Consider reading: Check Google Drive Storage

You can reduce the storage space taken up by your Google Photos by changing the upload size to Storage saver. This option compresses photos and videos to save space without sacrificing too much quality.

A 16.7MB original photo, for example, takes up only 1.05MB after using Storage Saver mode, according to an independent reviewer.

If you're using a Pixel 5 or earlier, you already get unlimited storage for photos and videos backed up from your device at no extra charge.

You might like: Google Photos Convert Original to Storage Saver

To change the upload size to Storage saver, go to the Google Photos settings and select Storage saver for the upload size. This will change the settings from Original to Storage saver, and any newly uploaded photos and videos will take up less storage.

Here are the specific changes you can expect when using Storage saver:

Photos and videos larger than these sizes will be resized to the maximum size listed above.

Google Photos takes up storage, but don't worry, you have options to manage it. You get 15 GB of storage for free, which is shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos.

If you have a Pixel phone, you're exempt from Google Photos limits, and can upload as many photos and videos as you want.

Any photos or videos you backed up in Google Photos before June 1, 2021, will not count toward your Google Account storage.

You can check your backup quality in the Photos app by going to Settings > Back up & sync.

More than 80% of current Google Photos users should still be able to store about three years of content with that free 15 GB.

Google will notify you in the app and by email once you get close to hitting your 15 GB limit.

Here are some tips to manage your storage:

You can also use the storage management tool to find out how much storage you have left, estimate how long your storage may last, and review items that count toward your storage that you might want to delete.

If you're close to your storage limit, you won't be able to back up additional photos and videos, and if you're over quota for 2 years, your content in Google Photos may be deleted.