Google Photos makes it easy to back up your photos without much overhead, even on an iPhone. When setting up automatic backups, Google Photos gives you three upload quality options: Original quality, Storage saver, and Express quality.
Storage saver is Google's answer to high-quality storage. But what exactly is Storage saver, and how does it compare to Original quality? Here, we'll take a look at the differences and everything you need to know.
What Are Storage Saver Backups in Google Photos?
Google Photos' Storage saver backup option has been available for quite some time but with a different name, High quality. With this option, you grant Google permission to tone down the quality of your images before uploading them to its servers, hence the name Storage saver.
The Storage saver option compresses all your images. And for images larger than 16MP, the app automatically resizes them to 16MP. For high-resolution videos above 1080p, Google Photos will resize them to 1080p.
With these settings, expect higher quality images and videos to take the most hit. According to Google, videos with 1080p or less will still be compressed but look close to the original. But, as you'd expect, some information might get lost, including closed captions.
However, the good news is, Google Photos may not compress all photos and videos. If they're small enough to begin with, they will upload in Original quality without being compressed.
The main advantage of uploading your images in Storage saver mode is obvious–saving your free Google storage. If you're the heavy cloud storage type and your space is running low, check out these tips on how to free up Google Photos storage space.
Even with images and videos being compressed, Google Photos tries to retain the same image quality as much as possible. But don't set your expectations too high. Google actually advised Google Photos users to use Original quality instead of Storage saver when they can, as images uploaded in the latter could appear pixelated.
However, the reason behind the warning might not have been all about the resultant quality of Storage saver images completely.
Google may also be trying to lure users into filling their free storage to subscribe to Google One, a subscription service that helps increase your Google cloud storage for Gmail, Google Photos, and Drive.
Related: What Is Google One? Reasons Why You Should Use It
Storage Saver vs. Original Quality in Google Photos
There is a whole lot of difference between Storage saver quality and Original quality. Original quality, as you'd expect, means Google Photos uploads your images and videos in the same quality as they are on your device.
If an image is 32MP, it remains that way, just like a 4K video would, and so on. While you retain your image and video quality, you will easily fill up your free 15 GB Google account storage.
However, this is the best option if you regularly take high-resolution photos and videos and want them to retain their quality even after uploading to Google Photos.
How to Change Google Photos Backup Quality
Changing your photo and video upload quality in Google Photos is straightforward. To change your Google Photo's upload quality, follow these steps:
- Open the Google Photos app.
- Tap your Google account's profile picture at the top right.
- In the pop-up, tap Photo settings.
- Then find and tap Backup and sync > Upload size.
- Finally, select your preferred upload quality. Google Photos will save the changes automatically.
Upload Images and Videos to Google Photos in Your Preferred Quality
Google Photos' default image and video upload quality is Storage saver. But now that you know its pros and cons, you should change how you store your media on the platform to suit your needs.
Although each upload quality option counts towards Google's free 15 GB quota, there are several reasons why you should continue using the photo-storage app.
