Google Photos cancels unlimited high-quality storage, you may need these alternatives

After Google Photos was released in May 2015, it became my first choice for backing up photos. In addition to the powerful intelligent classification and retrieval capabilities, what attracts me the most is of course the unlimited capacity of high-quality photo backups. However, after I backed up 24673 photos and videos, bad news suddenly came.

On November 12, Google announced that it would no longer provide unlimited high-quality storage services. Starting June 1, 2021, high-quality photos will also occupy the storage space of the Drive. After the free capacity of 15 GB is exceeded, you will need to pay for the Google One package or delete some of the content. Photos and videos backed up before this will not be influenced.

In addition to the personalized storage space available time estimation tool, Google also said that a new storage space management tool will be launched on June 1 next year, which can intelligently filter and delete dark, blurred, and other unwanted photos to save storage. Unless you are willing to pay for Google One services.

If you are also an old user of Google Photos, but do not want to purchase Google One service, you may need these alternatives.

Buy a Pixel

Don’t laugh, I’m serious. Google promised to provide lifetime high-quality backup services for the first generation of Pixel phones, and other Pixel users will always enjoy unlimited high-quality backup privileges, unaffected by this change. Considering that the price of the original Pixel is already very cheap, if you are a heavy user of Google Photos, buying a second-hand Pixel backup photos is also a good choice. However, with the new policy of Google Photos, the price of Pixel will also rise, and it needs to be purchased as soon as possible.

Specifically, you can connect the charger to the Pixel, leave it at home, and then use tools such as Syncthing or Resilio Sync to synchronize the photos on all devices, and let Google Photos automatically back up.

Amazon Photos

Amazon Photos is one of Google Photos’ most direct competitors. Free users have 5 GB of basic storage space, and Amazon Prime members have unlimited capacity for high-quality photo backup and 5 GB of video storage space. You can also purchase more capacity for an additional fee. The starting price is $1.99 per month with 100 GB storage. Space, same as Google One. Amazon will enable image recognition technology by default to provide intelligent classification, retrieval and recall functions. You can also manually disable it in the settings.

You can go to the official website to learn more and download the client. HandsomeDaddy.com will also provide articles on the benefits and experience of Amazon Prime members in the future.

OneDrive

OneDrive is another best alternative to backup photos. Although there is no unlimited capacity, 1 TB of storage space is more than enough for most people. If you are using a Windows computer, you can directly open the photo application to see all the pictures and videos you uploaded, as well as the smart classification of photos, personalized tags and character recognition performed locally, and the experience is smooth. In addition, Microsoft 365 also provides 3D, music, and text styles and other advanced effects, you can use photos to create more exciting video projects.

iCloud

If your computer and mobile phone are from Apple, iCloud is for you. Open the “iCloud Photo” option in the settings, buy enough space, and enjoy the ultimate experience in the Apple ecosystem. Even if you don’t back up all your photos to iCloud, Photo Stream allows you to view photos taken within 30 days on any device. Your device will also analyze the content of the album locally and offline to help you filter photos by people, places, things, etc., providing an experience similar to Google Photos.

Other big brands of mobile phones usually also have a cloud synchronization function for albums. For example, the cloud service of Xiaomi mobile phones also has a web page and a full-platform client, which are also very good alternatives.

Yandex.Disk

As the most popular search engine in Russia, Yandex also has quite good technical precipitation in image search, and in many cases it is more accurate than Google. In the network disk business, Yandex has launched a free unlimited photo backup service with original image quality in order to surpass Google. However, videos will still occupy your Yandex.Disk storage space, and the free user quota is 10 GB. Purchase any package to unlock unlimited video backup permissions, with a minimum of $1.7 a month and 100 GB storage space.

SmugMug

The name SmugMug may be a bit strange, it is currently the parent company of Flickr. This company focuses on serving photographers, providing services such as image hosting, sharing, printing, and sales. For individual users and photography enthusiasts, SmugMug’s Basic plan is also a good choice for backing up photos. In addition to uploading unlimited photos and videos, it also allows you to create your own website to share memories with family and friends. SmugMug also promises to protect your privacy, never snoop or sell personal data, and provide complete privacy control.

Taking advantage of the new Google Photos policy, SmugMug also launched targeted promotions, all packages are 40% off for the first year, the original price of the Basic plan is $55 per year, and the first year after the discount is $33. The professional version of its sub-brand Flickr enjoys a 25% discount and also provides unlimited photo storage space.

Do it yourself

Entrusting the data to others will inevitably feel a little uneasy. If you have a certain DIY ability, it is also a good choice to build your own cloud disk. Whether it is streaming media servers such as Plex and Kodi, or NAS solutions such as Synology and QNAP, they can help us get rid of our dependence on technology companies. Handsomedaddy.com will continue to introduce to you in the future.