Ever since Google removed the benefit of unlimited storage of original quality images when it launched the Pixel 4 series, the writing has been on the wall. Little by little, Google has restricted the free storage options on Google Photos for Pixels and non-pixels alike, with today marking the day when the feature is killed off entirely (unless you have an original Pixel or Pixel XL that is eligible for life).
Starting from today (June 1st), any and all images uploaded to Google Photos, in any quality, from today onwards will count towards the 15GB of storage that comes with your Gmail account. That 15GB of free storage doesn’t stretch as far as it used to thanks to bigger file sizes, backups, and higher image quality, and especially because it’s shared between Google Photos, Drive, and Gmail. Whatever photos and videos you uploaded before June 1st won’t count towards the 15GB limitation so long as they didn’t count before the cutoff date.
Options?
The easiest option with virtually no effort on your part is to sign up for a Google One storage plan, failing that you could give Amazon Photos a try if you are already paying the Prime membership, and Microsoft’s OneDrive is also worth a shout. If you have a phone that supports MicroSD cards, you could store your images locally but that leaves you open to losing your content if your phone is lost or stolen, or the memory card becoming corrupt.