Google Photos is a service that allows you to store your photos and videos in the cloud, i.e. on servers accessible from anywhere. For you, this means that all you have to do is log in to your account to access your photos – just like you do to your mail account (e.g. Gmail). You can do it from any device with Internet access (smartphone, tablet, computer). In addition, there are applications for smartphones and tablets with Android and iOS, which are more convenient to use than a browser and provide additional capabilities.
The application for Android phone is available here , and for the Apple system (iPhone, iPad) here . These are the official places from which you can download applications for these two systems. However, on your computer, the Google Photos application is available from any web browser at http://photos.google.com.
As usual with Google services, the Google Photos app is free for both Android and iOS (iPhone, iPad) and computer.
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Is storing photos and videos securely on Google servers?
Storing photos and videos in the Google Photos service is technically the same as storing files on servers such as Google Drive. Similarly, the files land on the server, are protected by the same account and you can use them from anywhere. All you need is internet access and a computer or smartphone. The only difference is in the way you view or use files. It is largely related to the type of files (photos vs documents). Simply put, both services are adapted to the file formats that you can use to open and edit them. I think that for this reason, it makes no sense to write separately about security in the context of the photos themselves sent to servers. Of course, online security is an issue that I always urge to learn about and which I am allergic to.
The idea for secure and unique passwords that are relatively easy to remember was presented in the entry:
It’s better to create difficult passwords than to cry after hacking your account
The convenience of using Google Photos
When it comes to the convenience of using the cloud, including Google Photos, no other solution is even approaching here. Access from anywhere is one thing. Added to this is the option to share any resource virtually on a click. No additional photo uploads, no email restrictions. Regardless of the size of the files, in a few seconds you can share with friends photos from the event you were together. You can create a shared folder, and all the people you have played with and shared this folder with will be able to upload videos and photos to it. Automatically all these people will be able to view photos from a joint event in one place. You can revoke access to selected people at any time.
If you later want to edit the selected photos there will be no problem with it, and after editing your friends will see new (changed) photos in their folder. There are quite a few editing options. You can crop, rotate, brighten, apply filters and more. Google’s algorithms are able to create a folder with photos that were taken at the party and propose to save it. They propose to improve movies and photos that need improvement, create animations and collages from a series of photos and propose to save them. The Virtual Assistant in Google Photos shows photos taken a few years ago on the same day of the year.
To all the possibilities offered by Google Photos comes automatic photo synchronization. You don’t have to remember that, it just happens.
WARNING
Some smartphones may block photo synchronization until you open the Google Photos app. Often this is the result of disabling processes that are active in the background, and is due to manufacturers taking care of battery life. Is this good or bad? I think it’s a matter of personal preference. For me it is a limitation. However, knowing this, I can enter the application from time to time and thus automatically start synchronization. Another option is to look in the settings for the power management options for the Photos application, and then switch the settings so that the application can launch after the system startup and run in the background.
In Huawei Mate 10 Pro, which I use, this option is available in Settings >> Battery >> Applications . There, find the Photos application, switch to manual management, and select so that the application can run after the system startup and run in the background.
What are the disadvantages of Google Photos?
The amount of space available for photos can be considered a significant limitation. In the free plan, after creating a Google Account, everyone gets 15 GB of space for their files. This space is shared between three services: Gmail (messages and attachments), Google Drive (all files except Google) and Google Photos. Even with moderate use of these services, space will eventually run out. The place is most often used by attachments in Gmail messages or just by photos and videos in the Google Photos application. For some time, you can try to delete heavy emails, but this is not the solution forever. And with a lot of pictures, it won’t change anything.
Currently, there are two real solutions to this problem, but they are also not without flaws.
Also read : How to sync Google account on Android
Paid plan for Drive space, Google Photos and Gmail.
The first is switching to a paid plan. Available packages are 100 GB (about 2 $ Per month), 1 TB (about 10 $ per Month), 10 TB (about 100 $ per Month) and more. The disadvantage of this solution is the need to pay a monthly or annual subscription. Of course, this option is out of the question for most users. I provided the approximate monthly subscription prices in parentheses. In addition, sooner or later each packet may be too small, but with a few terabytes, there is nothing to worry about for a long time. However, terabytes are expensive and you have to pay every month.
I think that this is not a solution for a statistical user, but there are two pros. Google photos are not compressed, which may be important for some people. In addition, space for all three services (Photos, Google Drive and Gmail) is expanded.
Current packages and price list for additional space is available here . Also here you can check how much space is used by individual services (Photos, Drive, Gmail).
Unlimited Google Photos storage
The second solution is to enable unlimited space for Google Photos. Indeed, there is no limit to the number of photos, you can send thousands, tens of thousands and more.
But as I said, there are restrictions here. First of all, photos are automatically compressed in this option. It won’t matter to most users. Such compression significantly reduces the weight of photos and only slightly their quality. The average user will not even notice it.
For the vast majority of people this is the best solution.
Restrictions on free storage in the Google Photos app
- Pictures are compressed to save space. Pictures larger than 16 megapixels will be reduced to 16 megapixels. 16 Megapixel images provide good print quality up to 61 × 40.5 cm .
- Movies with a resolution greater than 1080p will be reduced to 1080p. A movie in 1080p or lower resolution will look similar to the original. Some information, such as subtitles, may be lost.
- Supported file sizes: you can’t back up files that contain: photos larger than 75 MB or resolutions exceeding 100 MP;
movies larger than 10 GB;
elements smaller than 256 x 256 pixels. - Supported file types for photos : jpg, png, webp and some RAW formats;
- You can back up your moving photos using the Google Photos app for iPhone or iPad
- Supported file types for movies : mpg, mod, mmv, tod, wmv, asf, avi, divx, mov, m4v, 3gp, 3g2, mp4, m2t, m2ts, mts, mkv.
Currently, I use unlimited space for photos, and I have about 60,000 (from several years). In addition, I subscribe to the 100 GB package because I need more Google Drive space. I mention this because such a solution is also possible.
How do you reduce the size of photos and videos in Google Photos from the original size?
By that I mean freeing up disk space on Gogole and in Gmail by converting photos to an unlimited plan, i.e. from original quality to high quality.
This setting is not visible if you do not have any photos in original quality.
- On your computer, go to photos.google.com/settings .
- Click Free up space . This will not change the quality of the files sent in the future.
Photos and videos will not be converted to high quality versions if they were uploaded via
- Google Drive
- Pixel phone
- Pixel 2 or Pixel 3 or Pixel 4 phone during the original quality offer period.
All photos and videos uploaded from these services will be modified:
- Blogger
- Google Maps
- Google Photos
- Hangouts
- Panoramio
- Picasa Web Albums
Also Read : Google Drive, how it works, how to set up, how to share data?
