Google to End Unlimited Storage on June 1, 2021

Google will change its storage policies for free accounts on the 1st of June 1, 2021. All free accounts or semi-regular Google Photos users will have to pay to use additional storage from next year and subscribe to Google One.

Currently, every free Google account comes with 15 GB of online storage. Any photos or videos uploaded in high quality before 1st June next year will not count towards 15GB free storage. They will be considered free and exempt from the storage limit. However, those which are uploaded after this due date will not be included in this deal.

According to Google, 80% of its users will have at least three years to reach those 15 GB. You will be notified in the app and once by email it you get close to your 15GB limit. The company claims to provide its users a higher quality experience through this change with further plans to develop Google Photos in the future.

It is interesting to note that Pixel smartphone users will be exempted from this storage policy change and will be able to upload high quality photos and videos without any limit after June 2021.

It seems like Google wants to push its existing users to pay for its Google One plans. The basic plan with 100 GB is priced at Rs.130 per month, a 30 TB plan costs Rs 19,500 per month.

In addition to this, Google is also bringing in some new changes. Google will now also release a free storage management tool for Photos which will show you dark and blurry photos, indicating the option to delete them. Moreover, if you Gmail, Drive or Photos account is inactive for more than two years, Google may delete the content in that product.