Every Google account offers 15GB of free storage that is distributed across Gmail, Drive (this includes Docs, Slides, Sheets, etc) and Google Photos. In order to make people subscribe to Google One, Google has taken a big step and has stopped providing free unlimited Google Photos backup in High Quality starting on 1 June. This means all photos that you backup on Google Photos – whether they are in High Quality or Original Quality – will eat up the free storage of 15GB. Earlier, only the photos that were backed in Original Quality would consume the storage of your Google account.
For those who are unaware of this, photos backed in High Quality are compressed and, ironically enough, are actually of lower quality when compared to Original Quality photos. Having said that, photos and videos of High Quality take up less space than Original Quality photos.
What is Google One?
Google One is the new name for Google Drive Storage. It is a paid service. Its basic function is to offer more storage to your Google account. If you ever need more than the 15GB storage that you get for free, you will have to subscribe to Google One. The benefits of a subscription to Google One include access to Google customer care (if you ever encounter any problems), extra storage, the option to share storage with family members, and some other offers that will be exclusively available on Google Play.
The most important benefit is that you can expand the limit of your storage from 15Gb to 100GB, 200GB, or even 2TB depending on how much storage you need and how much money you want to spend for it.
Note that Google Photos will continue to consume your Google account storage even if you buy a subscription for Google One. Also, Google Photos will not again become free and unlimited as soon as you buy any one type of Google One subscription, because all the photos that you backup on Google Photos will occupy storage in your Google account.
Google One: plans and pricing
There are currently three available plans:
- 100GB at Rs. 130/- per month or 1300/- per year
- 200GB at Rs. 210/- per month or 2100/- per year
- 2TB at Rs. 650/- per month or 6500/- per year
The additional benefits of each plan are more or less similar, with the exception of the 2TB plan, which gives you a free VPN service for your Android mobile device.
How to buy a Google One subscription?
To buy a Google One subscription, you have to go to the official Google One website, log in with your Google account, and choose the plan that works for you. The purchase is very similar to buying apps on the Google Play Store.
