Whether you’re looking for a backup solution for the photos on your iPhone or you’re just trying to free up some space, moving your pictures to the cloud is a great way to do it. One of the top cloud services, specifically for pictures, is Google Photos. But like all of the other photo storage services, there are some caveats. While Google promises free unlimited storage, there are some limits to it. But don’t worry — keep reading this article, and we will dive into the details.
Does Google Photos really offer unlimited storage?
- If you want to enhance your pictures by making them look more professional, try using one of these photo editing apps for Mac. They are especially helpful when you need to crop images, change exposure and color settings, adjust white balance, apply filters, remove small imperfections, etc.
- Google recently terminated both its Google Drive desktop app and the Google Photos Desktop Uploader, urging users to switch to Backup & Sync instead. Although uploading snaps with the new PWA on.
- H Larry, Could you download the photos from which ever source at full res as a form of a back up and then delete the Google Photos App. If the photos are still in icloud, mac and iphone then that's great.
- Open Google Takeout in a browser. Click SELECT NONE. Slide the Google Photos switch to On. Scroll down and click NEXT. Click CREATE ARCHIVE. Wait until the archive created.
The short answer is yes. Google Photos offers free unlimited storage, but that’s only if you don’t mind your pictures and videos being slightly compressed. What’s meant by “slightly” is that Google will limit your images to 16MP resolution and your videos to 1080p. If you’re treating this storage solution as a backup for your photo library, you might be okay with these limitations.
Google recently terminated both its Google Drive desktop app and the Google Photos Desktop Uploader, urging users to switch to Backup & Sync instead. Although uploading snaps with the new PWA on. Google Photos for Mac is the home for all your photos and videos, searchable and organized by the people, places, and things that matter. Your photos and videos will be automatically backed up and organized, so you can find and share them faster – and never run out of space on your Mac. Finally, a photos app that’s as smart as you. Create a folder on your desktop. Drag the selected photos into your created folder. Open the folder and drag the exported images in the folder to Google Photos in your web browser. Following are the steps to Move Photos from Mac Photos App to Google Photos: Open 'Photos' app on your Mac. Select the photos which you want to move to Google Photos.
All that being said, you can still choose to upload full-quality pictures and videos; it will just count against the storage quota of your Google One account. And don’t worry, you can always upgrade that storage quota if you run out, but we’ll get into that later.
Before you start uploading your entire photo library to Google Photos, make sure you get rid of unwanted similar shots and duplicates. By using an app like Gemini Photos, you can quickly scan for them and declutter your library.
Download on the App StoreThe Google Photos storage limit for uncompressed photos
App Google Photos Mac Icloud
You can always decide later that you want your pictures to be stored uncompressed in Google Photos. If you opt to do this, it will count against your Google One storage, which means it shares space with anything else you have stored in Gmail, Google Drive, or any of the other G Suite apps. Since you’re sharing storage across all your Google services, you can get 15 GB for free or upgrade to 100 GB for $1.99/month.
If, after you’ve had a chance to play with Google Photos, you decide you want to switch to uncompressed pictures, you can change that from within the iOS app.
- On your iPhone, open the Google Photos app.
- Tap the Menu button (the three lines to the left in the Search bar).
- Tap Settings > Backup & Sync > Upload Size.
- Choose Original.
Getting more Google Photos storage
When you set up Google Photos to back up your library at original quality, you’ll eventually run out of space if you’re not regularly managing your library. But Google offers some very basic cleanup tools to help you free up some space. And, of course, you can always upgrade your storage space.
How to free up space in Google Photos
Fortunately, Google Photos offers an easy tool to help you clean up your library. After an initial scan, the app shows you clutter, such as screenshots and old meeting notes that you’ll likely want to get rid of now.
- Open the Google Photos app.
- Tap the Menu button (the three lines to the left in the Search bar).
- Tap “Manage your library.”
- You’ll be shown an Organization card. Tap “Review suggestions” to go through the photos.
How to upgrade your Google Photos storage plan
If you’ve cleaned up your Google Photos library and still need more space, you can upgrade your storage plan directly within the iOS app.
- Open the Google Photos app.
- Tap the Menu button, the three lines to the left in the Search bar.
- Then, tap Settings > Backup & Sync > Buy storage.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to choose your plan and upgrade.
Google Photos is a great solution for your photo library, whether you’re looking to back it all up or just free up space on your phone. And with free, unlimited storage, there’s almost no risk in giving it a test run. So if you want to test the waters of cloud storage for your pictures and videos, Google Photos presents you with a great chance to do just that.
Back up your library
Before following any of these steps, it's a good idea to create a backup of your photo library, even if you use iCloud Photos. You can use Time Machine, use a third-party backup solution, or copy the library to an external drive. By default, your photo library is stored in the Pictures folder within your home folder.
Make sure that your software is up to date
Photos is part of the Mac operating system. You can avoid or fix many issues by running the most up-to-date version of macOS. Learn more about updating the software on your Mac.
If you use RAW images in Photos, learn more about the digital camera RAW formats supported by iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.
If you have trouble migrating an existing iPhoto or Aperture library to Photos
You might see an alert message when you first open Photos or migrate an existing iPhoto or Aperture library. Learn what to do if Photos can’t copy or create a library.
If the Media Browser isn't showing your photos and videos
Use the Media Browser to make images from your photo library available in other apps, like Pages and iMovie. The Media Browser shows only the contents of the Photos library designated as the System Photo Library. If you have more than one Photos library—and the one you're using isn't set as the System Photo Library—the Media Browser won't show its contents.
Follow these steps to designate the current library as the System Photo Library:
- Choose Photos > Preferences.
- Click the General button at the top of the Preferences window.
- Click Use as System Photo Library.
If you're having other issues with Photos
If you're experiencing other issues—like missing or blank photo thumbnails, unexpected behavior, or if Photos won’t open—try to see if it's an issue with your library by following these steps.
Create a new Photos library and see if your issues persist:
- Quit Photos.
- Press and hold the Option key while you open Photos.
- In the dialog that appears, click Create New.
- Give your new library a name, then click OK. Note whether Photos opens successfully with this new library.
To return to your main Photos library, quit Photos. Then open it again while holding the Option key, select your main library, and click Choose Library.
Alternatively, you can open Photos in another user account on your Mac and note whether Photos opens successfully.
If Photos opens with the new library, or in a different user account, it might mean that there's an issue with your library. Follow the steps to use the Photos library repair tool on your main Photos library.
Learn more
App Google Photos Mac Os X
- Learn how to create and order print products like books or calendars in Photos with Project Extensions.
- Get help with iCloud Photos.