Around this time last year, Google ended its free unlimited cloud storage. To the joy of some users, the option is now back! But for the rest of us, there’s a major catch that could make it impossible to get the unlimited Google storage again.
PSA: Google’s free cloud photo storage ends in 2 weeks – Here are eight alternatives
Last November, Google announced that its free unlimited photo backup was going to end and it would all fall under the free shared 15GB get you with Google’s other services, like Gmail and Google Drive. Now, it’s almost upon us, with the service set to shut down on June 1st. You can, of course, upgrade to Google One (although there’s no “Unlimited” package), but what are your alternatives?
Well, none of the alternatives are really free, either. Not for unlimited storage, anyway. But with Google shifting over to a paid-only option with minimal free storage, the advantage they once had is now gone. Here we take a look at a few of the competing services for you to check out and see which best fits your needs.
Google Photos “High Quality” not as high quality as originally claimed, Google “warns”
Google has reportedly sent out an email to Google Photos cloud storage users promoting they eat up their 15GB of free storage and buy into the paid accounts by uploading Original Quality images instead of letting Google create its High Quality versions of images, showing a rather drastic comparison image to argue their case.
The argument is at odds with statements made when the service launched in 2015, that its High Quality images offered “near-identical visual quality” to the originals. With Google having recently taken the decision to end its free unlimited photo hosting, one can’t help but think that this is simply gaslighting to get more money out of people for Google One subscriptions that don’t really need it.
PSA: Amazon Photos auto-save might not be auto-saving all of your raw files
The whole cloud backup thing has been a hot topic for a while now as various services have been simultaneously killing off unlimited storage while others have been bringing it back and trying to outdo each other to win over your business. Amazon Photos is one such service that offers unlimited space as long as you have a prime account – including your raw photos. But it seems it’s not backing up everything – even if you think that it is.
Reddit user /u/somebodytoshove posted to /r/photography noting that the auto-save feature of the Amazon Photos iOS app has not been uploading the .raf files from his Fuji mirrorless camera. It thinks it has, and it looks like it has, but when you look at the uploaded files, they actually contain only the jpg preview.
Google Photos to kill its unlimited free storage in June 2021
Ever since it was launched in 2015, Google Photos has offered unlimited free storage for your photos. Well, not for long. From June 2021, you will no longer be able to store countless high-quality images on your account. There will be a 15 GB limit, and you’ll have to pay for Google One if you want to store more than that.
Canon is shutting down Irista, its photo storage and sharing website
Canon Irista, the company’s photo storage and sharing website, is shutting down. If you have been using it to store and share your images, you may want to download them if you don’t have them stored elsewhere. Because in January 2020, all content is going to be deleted from Canon’s servers forever.
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