Where Do My Photos Go When I Free Up Space on Google Photos?

Have you ever wondered what happens to your priceless images on Google Photos when you make space for them? It's a typical question that frequently arouses interest and causes some worry. Let's delve into the specifics and examine the subtleties of managing storage in Google Photos.

Understanding Google Photos Storage

Google Photos offers two main storage options: High-quality and "Storage Saver." In order to conserve space, "Storage Saver" photographs are compressed, whilst high-quality photos are kept at their original resolution. Your 15 GB of free storage is automatically replenished when you back up your images and movies using Google Photos in high-quality format.

The Free Up Space Feature

Google Photos has an easy-to-use "Free Up Space" function that comes in handy if your storage is getting low. When you turn this on, Google Photos searches through your library automatically to find images that are stored up in their original format but can be compressed without sacrificing much quality. After that, the "Storage Saver" format for these pictures is created, clearing up space in your Google account.

Where Photos Go After Freeing Up Space

When you free up space, Google Photos doesn't delete your original photos. Rather, it stores them in your Google Photos library after converting them to the "Storage Saver" format. Your photographs are now saved more effectively, yet they are still viewable and searchable.

High-Quality vs. "Storage Saver" Format

• High-quality: Offers the highest possible image quality, but counts towards your storage limit.
• "Storage Saver": Reduces the quality of images by compressing them to save space, but this may not always be the case.

The format you choose will depend on your needs and priorities. Staying with High-quality might be the best choice if image quality is your top priority. Nonetheless, "Storage Saver" can be a wise option if preserving storage space is your main priority.

Google Photos' Storage Management Tools

Google Photos provides several tools to help you manage your storage effectively. These include:

• Backup and Sync Settings: You have the ability to modify the photographs and videos that are automatically backed up to Google photographs by modifying your backup settings.
• When your storage space is limited, Smart Storage will automatically convert your images and videos to "Storage Saver" format.
• Manual Storage Management: You can manually delete photos or videos to free up space if needed.

FAQs about Google Photos Free up Space

Q: Can I recover deleted photos after freeing up space?

A: Indeed, you have thirty days to retrieve erased pictures from the trash can. They are permanently removed after 30 days.

Q: What happens to my photos if I let my Google Photos storage expire?

A: You won't be able to access your movies and photographs if your Google photographs storage runs out. You can either buy more storage to avoid this or manually remove photos to make room on your device.

Q: Can I manually delete photos to free up space?

A: Yes, in order to make room in your Google Photos library, you can manually remove images or videos. Remember, though, that deleted images are only kept in the trash for 30 days before being erased forever.

Q: How can I prevent Google Photos from automatically deleting photos?

A: You can disable the "Free Up Space" feature in Google Photos settings. This will prevent Google Photos from automatically converting photos to "Storage Saver" format.

Q: Does freeing up space affect the quality of my photos?

A: When you free up space, Google Photos converts photos to "Storage Saver" format, which may result in slightly reduced quality in some cases. However, the difference is often minimal and may not be noticeable for most users.

Q: Can I change a photo from "Storage Saver" back to High-quality?

A: Yes, you can change a photo from "Storage Saver" back to High-quality. However, this will count towards your storage limit.

Bonus Tip: Migrate Files Between Photos and Other Clouds Directly

The query "where do my photos go when I free up space on Google Photos" is answered in this article. MultCloud might come in quite handy if you're thinking about moving files from your existing cloud service to Google Photos or vice versa. MultCloud is a multi-cloud management solution that is trusted by over 3 million customers and makes file transfers or synchronization between different cloud providers easier.

It enables smooth file transfers, for example, between cloud storage services like OneDrive to Google Photos without requiring the download and subsequent upload of content. With MultCloud, you can use a single application to access and manage all of your cloud accounts. At present, it is compatible with over thirty distinct cloud services, such as Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, Google Photos, iCloud Photos,