Running out of storage on Google Photos? Don’t worry—you’re not alone. Many people use Google Photos every day to back up memories, but they often don’t realize how quickly space can fill up. In this guide, we’ll show you how to clean up your Google Photos in simple steps so you can save space and avoid paying more for extra storage.
Why This Matters
Google gives you 15 GB of free storage, which is shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. Once you run out of space, you can’t back up new photos unless you buy more. But the good news is, you don’t always need to spend money—you can just clean things up a bit!
What’s Taking Up Space in Google Photos?
Let’s first understand what might be using up all that space. It’s not just pictures from your phone. These things can also fill up your Google Photos:
- Old screenshots you forgot about
- Blurry or duplicate pictures
- Large videos you don’t watch anymore
- WhatsApp or Messenger photos that got backed up automatically
Sometimes, we don’t even realize these are there. But over time, they add up and take a lot of storage.
Easy Ways to Clean Up Google Photos
Cleaning up doesn’t have to be hard. Here are a few simple steps to help you get started:
1. Use Google’s Storage Tool
Google has a special tool called “Manage Storage”. It helps you find and delete blurry photos, large videos, and screenshots. You can visit it by going to:
photos.google.com/storage
It shows you how much space you’re using and gives you options to delete things you don’t need. It’s super easy to use—even for beginners!
2. Delete Duplicates and Similar Shots
Have you ever taken 10 photos of the same thing to get the perfect shot? Most of us have. Now is the time to delete the ones you don’t like and keep only the best one.
You can scroll through and manually delete extra photos. Or you can use apps like “Remo Duplicate Photos Remover” if you want help spotting duplicates.
3. Turn Off Auto Backup for Chat Apps
Sometimes, photos from chat apps like WhatsApp and Messenger get backed up without you knowing. To stop this, go to your Google Photos settings and turn off backup for those folders.
This can save a lot of space, especially if you get a lot of memes or forwarded pictures from friends and family.
4. Lower the Upload Quality
Google used to let you upload “High Quality” photos without using space. But now, all uploads count toward your 15 GB. Still, you can choose to upload photos in “Storage saver” quality, which is a little smaller but still looks good.
You can change this in settings by going to:
Photos settings > Backup > Upload size
5. Empty the Trash
Just like on your computer, when you delete photos in Google Photos, they go to Trash and stay there for 60 days. To free up space right away, go to the Trash folder and empty it. That way, you get that space back faster.
Expert Tip
According to Google’s support team, cleaning up just 1 GB of space can let you store about 1, 000 more photos. That’s a lot of memories saved just by doing a little bit of clean-up!
Wrap-Up: You Don’t Have to Pay—Just Clean Up
It’s easy to feel like you need to pay for more space on Google Photos. But before you do that, try these steps. A quick clean-up can give you tons of extra room—for free!
Have you tried cleaning up your Google Photos? Did it help you save space? Share your story with us in the comments below! We’d love to hear your tips too.