There was a time when we were dependent on a big storage device. These devices were fragile and too heavy. Just Seventy years back, humans have built the first computer. Those computers were as big as a bus. The first storage device came in the same decade, it weighs more than a ton and had a storage capacity of 4MB. Now we have hundreds and thousands of Gigabyte size of storage devices and these storage devices available in the size of a fingernail. We don’t know how these storage devices will look or work in the next fifty years but we are in the age of prime evolution of technology. Nowadays, a general smartphone has 64gigs of memory and a decade ago it was a distant dream. We also have cloud storage now. Cloud storage has nothing to do with clouds or nature, rather it works on internet service.
Cloud storage services provide storage options to the user. That means a user can store files on the server of the service provider. Cloud storage solved the issue of low storage issue on many devices. Service providers have big servers and storage systems so that they can store the files of their multiple clients with total encryption and security. But there is an important aspect of cloud storage, it works only with the availability of the Internet. Without an internet connection, it won’t function and the user can’t access his/her storage in absence of internet service. Many companies in the world provide storage services to users. Some of these companies provide free service while some charge an amount to render their service. Some of the prior companies in the cloud storage services are Google, Microsoft, Dropbox, and Amazon. These companies provide storage facilities to the users by charging a specific amount.
Although there is a limit of free storage usability if a user wants to access free storage service from any of these companies. Google is ahead among all the mentioned companies owing to its top-class service and hassle-free experience. Google drive and google Photos are two cloud storage services provided by Google. Google photos sync the available photos and videos (after granting permission) from a smartphone and store those media files on their storage. It provides an option for the user to store his/her media files on cloud storage without putting the burden on the internal storage of the smartphone. Google Photos will provide limited free storage (15GB) to its users after June 1. It means the unlimited storage facility provided by Google in Google Photos won’t work after June 1. If a user stores media files of more than 15GB, then he/she will have to buy the service for an extension on the cloud storage of Google Photos.
Apart from that, the catch point is the free storage of 15GB being provided by Google will be divided among Google Photos, Google Drive, and Gmail. It will be really hard for a user to manage all the files in such a limited storage facility and a lot of people are there who can’t afford rental storage services. They can opt for other service-providing companies. The new guidelines on google photos will allow the user to have only 15GB of free storage. Earlier users had unlimited storage facility on google photos they are boundless to store unlimited photos and videos on Google Photos. Now the restriction states that the free 15GB storage will be limited to all the storage services of Google, like Google Photos, Google Drive, and Gmail. It means users will have to manage all three services in limited storage of 15GB.
The company has released a statement and said that free storage will be unusable after June 1 and those users who want to use Google storage services under free limits, they must delete unnecessary files and folders from their Google Photos and Google Drive. Users can also free up their cloud storage space by deleting unwanted emails from their Gmail. Furthermore, the Spokesperson of google said that “users can download Google One for the identification of unwanted files and folders”, this app will help the user to identify useless and unwanted files from their storage. After the implementation of the service, if a user reaches the free limit of storage, he/she will get a notification about it. Although, those users who haven’t 15GB of storage on Google services don’t need to worry. If a user wants to extend the storage capacity of the Google cloud service, he/she can download Google One to extend the service.
Google One can help a user in increasing cloud storage facilities. Although, there are service charges to expand the storage facility, the charges are as follows.
- By downloading Google One, users will see multiple rental service options. The minimum storage plant starts from Rs. 120. In this plan, the buyer will get 100GB of storage on Google Photos, Google Drive, and Gmail. It is the base plan offered by Google for those users whose requirements are less and who have minimal use of Google Services.
- The premium plan to access all the features as well as unlimited storage on Google storage service will cost Rs.6500 per annum. This plan will be sophisticated for those people whose work depends on cloud storage, like photographers and graphic designers.
Best Google Photos Alternatives For Online Storage
Owing to the current restriction on Google storage services, a lot of users will seek an alternative option to store their files. Those alternatives which either provide free services and also those companies which have rental charges less than that of Google. There are a lot of such companies which provide cloud storage services. Some of them are popular while some aren’t much popular. So, let us have a look at the optimum alternative of Google storage services.
Microsoft OneDrive
Microsoft OneDrive is a cloud service being provided by Microsoft. On this service, a user can store any kind of file. There are many other services of Microsoft available for users to access without paying any amount and Microsoft OneDrive is one of them. Microsoft OneDrive provides 5GB of free storage to the users. To extend the storage facility beyond 5GB, users will have to opt for a rental plan. The monthly rental plan starts at Rs.130 in which a user will get 100GB of a storage facility on Microsoft OneDrive. The plan is much like Google’s new plan.
Amazon Photos
The tech and E-com giant Amazon also provide storage facility to its users. The service is called Amazon Photos. In this service, users have the option to upload their photos in full resolution and there is also an option by which a user can share his/her opted Amazon service to five other members of family or friends. There are a lot of distinct features available in Amazon Photos like a user can edit and as well as share a media file directly from the Amazon Photos. This service is available for free of cost for Amazon Prime users while 5GB of a free storage facility is available for those who aren’t prime users of Amazon.
Dropbox
One of the oldest and most used cloud storage options after Google is Dropbox. Dropbox provides the option to store any kind of files on its cloud storage. There are a lot of unique features available in dropbox which makes it the prior option among all the above-mentioned alternatives. Some of these options are password protection to secure the files on the storage and transfer facility from one dropbox user to another. The cross-platform transfer facility makes it an optimum choice among all the alternatives of Google cloud storage services. Although, the rental services are much expensive than the other mentioned alternatives. The rental plan of storage service on Dropbox starts at Rs. 720. Furthermore, users will have 2GB of a free storage facility on Dropbox, which doesn’t require any rental charges.
Final Words
The decision taken by google to limit the free storage of Google Photos is indigestible for many users. Earlier a user has unlimited storage facility and he/she could store as many media files in Google Photos as they want. But, restricting the storage facility will hamper the work of many customers. Existing users of Google Photos may opt for paid cloud storage service of Google Photos or they can look for other storage service providers. Although the amount prescribed by Google for using extendable storage on Google Photos is not much and a user who is in dire need then he/she can go for the rental services.
Google Photos earlier provide unlimited storage but now the company has decided to restrict the free storage up to 15GB only. Google has been thinking about this decision to restrict the free service for a long time and it will be going to implement. A lot of users aren’t happy with this decision and mocking this move of Google. Users are terming Google as a Profit centric company that only wants to make money from its users. While some people are supporting this move of Google to restrict the Cloud storage service of Google Photos.
