Google Photos Storage Saver vs Original: Save Storage or Quality?

Google Photos is a fantastic tool for organizing and storing your cherished memories, but it also comes with a storage limit. If you've exceeded your free storage space, you're probably considering the Storage Saver option to free up some room.

The Storage Saver feature reduces the quality of your photos to save storage space, compressing them to a smaller size. This means that your photos will be displayed at a lower resolution, but they'll still look great on your device.

However, if you want to keep your photos in their original quality, you can opt for the Original option, which stores your photos at their full resolution. This is ideal if you plan on printing or sharing your photos in high quality.

The trade-off is that the Original option takes up more storage space, which can be a concern if you're running low on space.

A fresh viewpoint: Storage Space on Google Photos

Storage Saver mode is a feature in Google Photos that limits the quality of your backups to save space. It's previously known as "High Quality" mode.

Photos backed up in Storage Saver mode are limited to a maximum of 16 Megapixels and apply image compression. Videos are also compressed and limited to 1080p resolution.

Google claims that photos saved in Storage Saver mode should print in "good quality" at up to 24 inches by 16 inches. However, some information like closed captions might be lost.

You can change your backup settings between Original Quality and Storage Saver modes at any time, but this will only affect the storage quality of images you back up in the future.

Here's a comparison of the two modes:

If you want to keep high-quality photos or videos shot at a higher resolution than 1080p, be sure to make a backup first.

Google Photos has storage limits now, so compressing file size is a good idea to avoid paying for more storage. You can compress photos before uploading to Google Photos, or use the "Review and delete" tool to delete blurry photos, screenshots, and large photos & videos.

If you're worried about running out of free space, you can compress the size of your Google Photos by compressing photos before uploading, using the "Review and delete" tool, or converting existing photos and videos to "Storage Saver" quality.

The "Review and delete" tool lets you find and delete photos and videos that count towards your Google Account storage, freeing up space in the process. This is especially helpful if you have a lot of blurry photos or screenshots taking up space.

Here's a table summarizing the difference between the original size and compressed size of photos and videos:

Converting your existing photos and videos to "Storage Saver" quality can save you a lot of storage space, and the compressed size is used to calculate the storage usage.

Video compression issues can significantly affect the quality of your photos. Google Photos' compression algorithm reduces file size by 80% on average, which can lead to noticeable quality loss.

High-quality images with detailed textures and patterns are particularly vulnerable to compression. This is because the algorithm prioritizes reducing the file size over preserving fine details.

Google Photos' compression is not always noticeable, especially on smaller screens or when photos are viewed at lower resolutions. However, printing or zooming in on a compressed image can reveal the loss of detail.

Compressed images can also become pixelated, especially around the edges of objects. This is because the algorithm reduces the number of pixels used to represent an image, leading to a softer, more blurry appearance.

If you're concerned about preserving the quality of your photos, consider storing them in their original, uncompressed format.

Storage Saver mode limits photos to 16 Megapixels and applies image compression to save space. This means your photos will take up less space, but may not print as well at larger sizes.

Google claims that photos saved in Storage Saver mode should print in "good quality" at up to 24 inches by 16 inches. However, some information like closed captions might be lost.

If you want to keep high-quality photos or videos shot at a higher resolution than 1080p, be sure to make a backup first. This way, you can download your important images individually before you begin the storage recovery process.

Storage Saver is the same as High Quality, it's just a rename. The quality of photos and videos will remain the same under Storage Saver as it was under High Quality.

To convert your original quality photos to high quality, go to Google Photos and click on the Settings icon. Then, click on Compress to make original quality items to storage saver quality.

Here are the key differences between Storage Saver and Original Quality:

If you upload all your photos to Google Photos in raw quality, you can quickly release space by converting the quality to high quality. This can be done from Google Photos online, and it's a great way to free up space without losing any quality.

Storage Saver is essentially the same as High Quality, with no technical changes made to the quality of backups.

Google hasn't altered the rules for Storage Saver, so if you choose this tier, your photos will be compressed and resized to 16 megapixels.

Photos backed up via Storage Saver will take up less space than your original quality photos, but they'll still count against your storage quota.

Storage Saver photos will have the same quality as High Quality photos, which means they'll be compressed and resized, just like High Quality.

If you had High Quality or Storage Saver photos uploaded before June 1, 2021, they won't count against your quota and will remain backed up for free.

Existing High Quality or Storage Saver photos uploaded after June 1, 2021, will take up space on your Google account storage, just like original quality photos.

A different take: Google Storage Quota