How to Free Up Space When Google Photos Storage Is Taking Up Too Much Space

Google Photos is a popular option for backing up and organizing your photos and videos, but it can quickly take up a lot of storage, especially if you capture a lot of memories. While Google used to offer free unlimited storage, this changed in June 2021, and photos now count toward your Google account storage limit. Once you hit your storage cap, you may find that you’re unable to upload any more photos, leaving you in a tricky situation. Fortunately, there are some simple steps you can take to clear up space in Google Photos, and in this post, we’ll walk you through the process.

Additionally, we’ll introduce Cozy, a free website and app that provides a temporary and easy solution for sharing your photos after a group trip. Rather than keeping them in your Google Photos account indefinitely, you can use Cozy to share the photos with your friends without worrying about storage limits.

Why Google Photos Is Taking Up So Much Space

There are several reasons why your Google Photos might be eating up your storage space:

Original Quality vs. Storage Saver Quality: Photos and videos uploaded in Original Quality consume more storage compared to those uploaded in Storage Saver (formerly called High Quality). If you’re not mindful of the quality setting, your photos could be using up a lot of space unnecessarily.
Large Video Files: Videos are typically much larger in size than photos, and even short clips can eat into your storage quickly.
Duplicates and Similar Photos: If you’ve been backing up photos for years, chances are you have a lot of duplicates or multiple versions of the same photo. These take up unnecessary space.
Photos You No Longer Need: Old screenshots, memes, and other junk photos may still be backed up, unnecessarily using your Google storage.

How to Free Up Space in Google Photos

To reclaim space, you’ll need to delete unwanted photos and adjust your settings to optimize storage use. Below are step-by-step instructions on how to free up space.

1. Check Your Storage Usage

Before you start deleting photos, it’s a good idea to check how much storage you’re using and how much is left.

Open Google Photos and tap your profile picture in the top-right corner.
Select Account storage to see how much space you’re using and how much is left.

2. Switch to Storage Saver Quality

If you’re currently using Original Quality, your photos are being stored in full resolution, which consumes a lot more space. You can switch to Storage Saver Quality, which compresses your photos to a slightly lower resolution, but they’ll still look great for viewing on devices and printing.

How to switch to Storage Saver Quality:

Open Google Photos and tap your profile picture.
Select Photos settings.
Tap Back up & sync.
Choose Upload size and switch to Storage Saver.

3. Free Up Space by Removing Backed-Up Photos from Your Device

If you’re running low on space on your phone as well, Google Photos allows you to delete photos from your device after they’ve been backed up to the cloud.

How to remove backed-up photos from your device:

Open Google Photos and tap your profile picture.
Tap Free up space.
Google Photos will automatically detect which photos and videos have been backed up and are safe to delete from your phone.

4. Delete Unwanted or Duplicated Photos and Videos

Sometimes we unknowingly end up with multiple copies of the same photo or just photos that we don’t need anymore. To free up space, it’s a good idea to do some spring cleaning in your Google Photos library.

How to delete photos:

Open Google Photos and navigate to the Photos tab.
Select any photos or videos you no longer need.
Tap the Trash icon at the top-right corner.
After moving them to the trash, go to the Trash folder and permanently delete them to reclaim the space.

5. Clear Out Your Google Photos Trash

Deleted photos and videos remain in the Trash for 30 days before they’re permanently removed. If you need to free up space immediately, you can manually empty the Trash folder.

How to empty the Trash:

Open Google Photos and tap Library.
Select Trash.
Tap Empty Trash to permanently delete all items and free up space.

6. Use Google One Storage Manager to Clean Up

Google One users can access a Storage Manager tool that identifies large photos, blurry images, and other items you may want to delete to free up space.

How to use Google One Storage Manager:

Open Google One (or go to one.google.com).
Select Storage and then tap Storage Manager.
Browse through the categories like Large items, Blurred photos, and Screenshots to quickly find photos and videos you may no longer need.

Use Cozy for Temporary Photo Sharing After a Group Trip

If you’re returning from a group trip and want to share photos with friends without using your Google Photos storage, Cozy is a great alternative. Cozy allows you to easily upload and share photos without permanently storing them in your Google Photos account. It’s perfect for short-term sharing when everyone in the group wants access to the same photos, but you don’t want them cluttering up your storage.

Why Cozy is Perfect for Sharing Photos After a Trip:

No Google storage limits: Cozy doesn’t use your Google storage, so you can free up space and share without worrying about storage caps.
Quick and easy sharing: Create a shareable link for your trip photos and send it to your friends via text, email, or chat.
Temporary sharing: After the trip, you can delete the photos from Cozy without taking up space in your cloud storage.
Cross-platform compatibility: Whether your friends use Android, iPhone, or desktop, Cozy makes it easy for everyone to view and download the photos.

How to Share Photos After a Trip Using Cozy:

Visit the Cozy website at https://cozy.photos.
Download the Cozy app from the App Store or Google Play Store.
Enter your phone number to get started.
Upload the trip photos from your device to Cozy.
Generate a shareable link and send it to your friends or family.

With Cozy, you can share all your group photos without the hassle of worrying about Google Photos storage limits. After everyone has downloaded the photos, you can choose to delete them from Cozy if you don’t need to keep them there long-term.

Conclusion

Google Photos is a powerful tool, but it can quickly consume your Google storage if not managed carefully. By following the steps in this guide, you can delete unwanted photos, switch to a more storage-friendly setting, and keep your Google Photos account organized and clutter-free.

And if you’re coming back from a group trip and want a hassle-free way to share photos without using up your Google storage, Cozy offers an excellent solution. With Cozy, you can easily share and manage photos without worrying about storage limits or syncing issues.