Goodbye free storage:
Google Photos is no longer available for free

In June 2021, Google Photos will cost users money.

Just a few years ago, lots of free cloud storage was more than normal at many large companies like Microsoft. But that's over now. Google Photos follows in the footsteps of other big storage services like Microsoft 365 or Apple iCloud and will cost money from June 2021.

Photos or videos that are already in the Google account will no longer be added. In addition, each Google account will receive 15 GB of additional storage space. So the changeover will not come as too much of a surprise to users.

What changes concretely

From 1 June 2021, every Google account will receive 15 GB of free storage. Any photos and videos already in Google Account will not count towards the 15 GB and will remain free.

Any new photos, videos, or even other Google products like Docs that go beyond the 15 GB on the Google Account will then be charged. Google One members who have already manually added additional storage space do not count towards the free 15 GB.

Why Google is taking the step

Over 4 million photos are stored in Google Photos. Every week, 28 million new photos and videos are added. Why has Google now decided to take this step? Google announced this product update on 11 November.

Google begründet die Entscheidung damit, dass das Produkt weiterhin seinen Standards entsprechen soll. Others justify the decision by saying that Google now wants to sell more Google One subscriptions. This would enable Google to bind more members to its products in the long term.

What prices users can now expect

Customers now have the choice between different scale prices. Each Google account automatically receives 15 GB of storage space. Apart from this, the user can also opt for a Google One subscription. These Google One subscriptions differ depending on the amount of storage space required. The user can expect three options: 100 GB (€1.99/month), 200 GB (€2.99/month) or 2 TB (€9.99/month).

Google also points out in its blog entry that around 80% of all users with the free 15 GB storage space can use Google Photos for another 3 years without any problems without exceeding the 15 GB storage space. As soon as the storage space comes to an end, the user is notified via app and email.

Get a personalised assessment of your own Google storage space and find out how long you can still use it free of charge.

From Amazon to Microsoft

When comparing the offers of large technology companies such as Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Dropbox, etc., it quickly becomes clear that all the big companies are busy bundling. Be it office products, Skype and storage space like at Microsoft or TV, music and storage space at Apple.

Due to the wide variety of product bundles, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the user to decide which product is best suited for him and at the same time offers good value for money.

What to look for when choosing a storage solution

The "Family" packages are often worthwhile if there are several users. It is important to be aware of how much storage space is really needed. Regardless of whether you are looking for a secure provider as a private user or as a company, it is worth thoroughly comparing the different providers.

If you as a company are concerned about the protection of your data and at the same time you would like to use a large number of functions including online office, you should take a look at our homepage.

leitzcloud not only stands for GDPR-compliant cloud solutions, but at the same time secures your data with end-to-end encryption, provides an office editor for you and all your users and includes all important corporate governance functions for effective internal and external collaboration.

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For more information, visit our Homeoffice page and read more about the different features.