In brief: From June 1, 2021, any new photos and videos uploaded will count towards a user's 15GB of free storage that comes with every Google account (or towards the additional storage a user has purchased as a Google One member). Google account storage is shared across Photos, Gmail and Drive.
Google more than five years ago launched Google Photos as a free, unlimited repository for your photos and videos, and end users have been taking advantage of the service. Today, more than four trillion photos are stored in Google Photos, with users adding an incredible 28 billion new images and videos every single week.
Given the high utilization and to keep pace with the growing demand, it's no surprise to learn that Google is making some changes to its unlimited high quality storage policy.
Worth highlighting is the fact that photos and videos uploaded in high quality before June 1, 2021, will not count against the 15GB allotment. All images and videos uploaded to that point will be exempt from the storage limit.
And even in six months when the change goes into effect, Google notes that roughly 80 percent of Google Photos users should still be able to store an additional three years' worth of memories with the 15GB allotment.
Google also restated its commitment to not use information derived from Google Photos for advertising purposes.
Image credit: Primakov