How to Free Up Google Photos Storage

Google Photos has become a go-to platform for smartphone users to back up their photo and video collections. But thousands of files left untouched can quickly use up cloud storage.

One thing to bear in mind is that Google Photos’ free storage quota is fully integrated with other Google services, including Gmail and Google Drive. As a result, if Google Photos uses up too much space, Gmail may also run out of room and fail to receive new messages.

Conversely, large documents, photos and videos stored in Gmail also use up Google Photos storage. This can indirectly leave less space on your device’s internal storage, too.

To prevent cloud storage from becoming full, users are advised to declutter their digital galleries regularly.

Here is a practical guide to clearing Google Photos on a phone or computer to free up storage.

How to clear Google Photos on a phone (Android and iPhone):

• Open the Google Photos app on your phone.

• Tap the profile icon in the top-right corner of the screen.

• Go to Account storage or Manage storage.

• Scroll down to find the option to review Google Photos files.

• The system will group files by size. Select large photos or videos you no longer need.

• Select files individually or use the option to select several at once.

• Tap Move to trash.

• The large files will then be removed from your storage.

How to clear Google Photos on a laptop or computer:

• Open the official Google Photos website in a computer browser.

• Click Storage in the navigation bar on the left.

• Scroll down to the Review and Delete section.

• Choose a category of files to clear, such as large photos and videos, blurry photos or screenshots.

• Select the files you want to review.

• Tick the files to delete, or use Select All in the top-right corner to delete them in bulk.

• Click Move to trash.

• Repeat these steps for other categories if needed.

Regularly clearing files from Google Photos can save cloud storage and help keep your phone and Gmail account working optimally, without the need to rush into a Google One subscription.