Google has been paywalling a number of services as of last year. Now it seems to be the turn of Google Photos. On June 1, Google users lose access to the free cloud backup service of the app unless they sign up for a Google One membership.
In addition to cloud storage, subscribers have access to a number of other features.
Here’s a quick look at the offerings of Google One.
In last year’s announcement, Google said that “high quality” photos and videos from Photos will be eaten to every Gmail user’s 15GB of free storage from June 1, 2021.
Modern smartphone cameras however can capture 108 megapixels of RAW images and 15GB of storage will quickly expire, especially if shared by Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos.
If you don’t want to bother building an upgradable NAS and prefer Big Tech to store your personal files at a fee, Google One might be the answer.
Google One is a recurrent monthly subscription scheme which unlocks cloud storage and provides conveniences such as shared benefits, automatic backup of telephones and media backups in full resolution.
Google 1 Membership
Google One membership of the first level is capped at 100GB of Rs. 130/month cloud storage or an annual prepayment of Rs 1.300.
The second level for recurrent charge of Rs 210/month or Rs 2.100/year is limited to 200GB. 2TB for Rs. 650/month or Rs. 6500/year is the largest cap.
You can share all memberships with your family members. In addition, Google One members can contact “Google experts” for assistance with products and services.
Of course, the regular customer service of the company offers exactly the same help and can pass on you to a Google Expert, even without a member.
Membership also unlocks few Google Photos editing tools.
Finally, Google One has a dedicated app that allows you to store your services in one place and manage your membership and backups.
Google’s service is a viable option if you are convinced that it is worth paying for convenience. We strongly recommend, however, that you build a NAS. It is a much cheaper, safer, and scalable way to store data.
