5 things to do before Google Photos ends free unlimited storage this June
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022
THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
5 things to do before Google Photos ends free unlimited storage this June

Brands

Rifat Ahmed
24 May, 2021, 12:00 pm
Last modified: 24 May, 2021, 01:56 pm

Related News

  • Google making smartwatch in 'ambient' computing push
  • Google all set to block third-party call recording apps from Play Store tonight
  • Russia fines Google over Ukraine 'fakes', far-right content: TASS
  • Google to set up first Africa product development centre in Nairobi
  • Russian hackers targeted NATO, eastern European militaries: Google

5 things to do before Google Photos ends free unlimited storage this June

Though everyone is busy looking for a free or cheaper alternative to Google Photos, there is still time to take advantage of Google’s unlimited free storage plan

Rifat Ahmed
24 May, 2021, 12:00 pm
Last modified: 24 May, 2021, 01:56 pm
Photo: Collected
Photo: Collected

Google Photos is one of the few apps that has zero competition in both Android and iOS markets. From its free unlimited storage plan to the advanced AI-based image grouping and sorting with machine learning capabilities, everything about Photos is unchallenged. 

No other app, to this day, offers unlimited storage for video and photos for free and the same goes for polished grouping and sorting. Even Apple's Photos app does not come close to Google in terms of image processing and accumulating. 

That is why, iPhone users, despite being known for their brand loyalty, often favour Google Photos app over Apple's native Photos app. 

Google Photos has grown so popular that every week, 28 billion new photos and videos are being uploaded to the platform by both, Android and iOS users. However, this is about to change as of June 1, 2021 and Android users and enthusiasts, in general, are bummed about it. 

According to Google's announcement in November 2020, the free unlimited storage on the Photos app will be discontinued from June 1 this year. 

Even though everyone is busy looking for a free or cheaper alternative to Google Photos, only to be disappointed as nothing of the sort exists, there is still time to take advantage of Google's unlimited free storage plan. 

Here are five things you can do to make the best use of Google Photos before the free unlimited storage ends in June:

Backup your family albums, event photos and videos free of charge forever 

If you have old photo albums, VCR, and CD recordings of family events, this is the perfect time to back them up. Anything you backup on Google Photos before the free unlimited storage ends will not count against the allotted 15GB of cloud storage offered to each Google account. 

However, the backups are only free if you choose the "high quality" option in Photos' backup settings, which comes with in-built compression to minimise storage occupancy. Despite the compression, the photos and videos backed up are usable in most situations, including printing, social media sharing, and whatnot. 

Apart from the free storage space, Google Photos offers grouping based on faces, locations, objects, scenarios, and lighting. Google's AI and machine learning-powered grouping and sorting is one of the reasons why people have loved the platform since its launch in 2015.

With its help, users can search photos and videos with somewhat vague details like - group photo on a beach, nightlife in Dhaka, cats wearing a hat, and more. Using the overabundance of data Google acquired by letting people host images for free to improve their machine learning, Photos will pull up all the pictures and videos matching the search query's description. 

So, before June 1, make sure to scan your family photos and back them up on Google Photos forever. 

You can use Photoscan by Google to scan old photos if you do not own an actual scanner. Under perfect lighting conditions that involve no glares and shadows, this app works surprisingly well.

Backup your audio files on Google Photos

Even though no audio files can be uploaded to Google Photos for safekeeping, Android users and enthusiasts found a way to do so. 

If you are someone who records and stores logs or songs as audio files, converting them to video format will allow you to back them up on Google Photos for free. 

There are plenty of free audio-to-video converters for Android, iOS, Windows, and Linux-based machines. With these you can convert an audio file in a matter of seconds. Once you convert them, upload the files on Google Photos and Google will allow them to be backed up since, to its knowledge, you are just uploading video files. 

When you need the audio files next time, just download the video file from Photos and use the same free conversion tools to extract the audio. 

Scan documents and certificates to keep them safe and accessible 

Documents and certificates on paper are perishable. But scanning and storing them as images ensures their survival for years to come and there is no better tool to do it than Google Photos. 

As mentioned earlier, the Photos platform is very efficient in sorting and searching images, thus, finding an important document whenever needed will not be an issue. Moreover, since Google Lens's integration with Photos, its searching and organising capabilities have exceeded all expectations. Thanks to Lens, users can now extract text from an old roughed-up document uploaded on Photos and copy the text in a plain text form. 

This particular feature is very handy since it allows critical data extraction from old and sensitive documents in seconds, not to mention you can pull the documents up anywhere and anytime. 

Disable auto-backup on your devices to avoid running out of storage

Since there was no limit with "high quality" backup option on Google Photos, android users generally kept the auto backup turned on for their devices. 

However, from June 1 onwards, everything uploaded on Google Photos will count against the allotted 15GB quota, be it in high quality or original. That means keeping auto backup turned on will continue to back up unnecessary files from your phone, occupying the limited storage, disrupting more important Google services like Gmail. 

All Google services, including Gmail and Drive, use the same 15GB storage and if that storage is occupied by unnecessary photos or videos on Google Photos, you will not receive any emails. 

To make sure important emails get through to your inbox, Google suggests turning auto backup off or upgrading to one of their paid plans, starting with 100GB of storage across all Google services. 

Do a quick Drive and Gmail sweep to free up as much space as you can

Emails, their attachments and temporarily uploaded files on Google Drive occupy most of the storage on Google accounts. You will always have space for new photos to be backed up on Google Photos if you keep your files organised and clean the unnecessary emails and files every now and then. 

So, do a quick sweep before June 1 and after that, find a few minutes every month to organise your inbox and drive. Besides freeing up storage, this habit of sorting, archiving, deleting emails will positively affect your productivity and workflow in the office. 

After deleting the unwanted files and emails, make sure to clean the "trash" on Gmail and Drive. Otherwise, the deleted items will keep occupying the same amount of storage for the next 30 days.

If these seem like a lot of work, you can always upgrade to Google One paid plan that starts with Tk150 per month or Tk1,600 per year for 100GB of storage, upgradeable up to 30TB for Tk12,100 per month. With Google One subscription, you can also unlock advanced photo and video editing tools on Google Photos along with the essential crop-trim tools that come with Photos for free. 


The writer is a student of the Mathematics Department of University of Chittagong.

Features / Tech / Top News

google / Google Photos / Google apps / Google cloud / google drive

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Wheat stock at 3-year low and that may not be good for rice
    Wheat stock at 3-year low and that may not be good for rice
  • Ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan gestures as he travels on a vehicle to lead a protest march in Islamabad, Pakistan May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
    Azadi March: Army deployed in Red Zone as Imran's caravan enters Islamabad
  • Photo: Collected
    Bangladesh among top 20 prospective solar farm capacity nations

MOST VIEWED

  • Keep your phone by your side with this armband
    Keep your phone by your side with this armband
  • Are Focallure gel masks worth the hype?
    Are Focallure gel masks worth the hype?
  • Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED: A touch of brilliance to your life
    Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED: A touch of brilliance to your life
  • Wazeenah: Turning furniture into a canvas
    Wazeenah: Turning furniture into a canvas
  • Karst Stone Paper Journal: Write on indestructible stone paper
    Karst Stone Paper Journal: Write on indestructible stone paper
  • Pesky bugs do not stand a chance against this automatic indoor insect trap
    Pesky bugs do not stand a chance against this automatic indoor insect trap

Related News

  • Google making smartwatch in 'ambient' computing push
  • Google all set to block third-party call recording apps from Play Store tonight
  • Russia fines Google over Ukraine 'fakes', far-right content: TASS
  • Google to set up first Africa product development centre in Nairobi
  • Russian hackers targeted NATO, eastern European militaries: Google

Features

Psycure has received various awards for their extraordinary contributions to promoting Sustainable Development Goals. Photo: Courtesy

Psycure: Meet the organisation serving the underserved university students (and beyond) with mental healthcare 

21h | Panorama
Underlying problems such as school dropouts need to be addressed first before taking a legal route to stop child labour. Photo: Reuters

‘Child labour in a country like Bangladesh is primarily a development issue, not so much of enforcement’

22h | Panorama
The balcony railings of the Boro Sardar Bari in Sonargaon. Made of cast iron, these railings feature vertical posts with intricate designs on top. Photo: Noor-A-Alam

The evolution of railing and grille designs

1d | Habitat
A Russian army service member fires a howitzer during drills at the Kuzminsky range in the southern Rostov region, Russia January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov/File Photo

3 months of Ukraine war : Miscalculations, resistance and redirected focus

1d | Analysis

More Videos from TBS

Where the people have more weapons than military

Where the people have more weapons than military

10h | Videos
Govt plans to amnesty in the offing to bring back laundered money to meet dollar crises

Govt plans to amnesty in the offing to bring back laundered money to meet dollar crises

12h | Videos
Poet Nazrul Islam’s 123rd birth anniversary observed

Poet Nazrul Islam’s 123rd birth anniversary observed

12h | Videos
Soaring commodity prices put pressure on budget

Soaring commodity prices put pressure on budget

16h | Videos

Most Read

1
Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge
Bangladesh

Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge

2
Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi
Bangladesh

Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi

3
BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies
Stocks

BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies

4
Photo: Courtesy
Panorama

Misfit Technologies: A Singaporean startup rooted firmly in Bangladesh

5
Illustration: TBS
Banking

Let taka slide

6
Photo: Collected
Industry

Spanish recycled cotton producer opens new facility in Bangladesh

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab