When it comes to backing up photos and videos, Google Photos dominates. Unlimited uploads, combined with cool features like Google Lens integration, make it an absolute must on any Android or iOS device.
If you’ve been using Google Photos for a while, you’ll occasionally see a pop-up that says Free up space in the app. It’s supposed to help you free up space (obviously), but how exactly does it do that?
Are your photos and videos safe? Can you even access them then? Admittedly, this is very disturbing. Before you go ahead and hit the Free up space button, find answers to these important questions.
What happens when using free space in Google Photos
Whenever you use the Free up space option in Google Photos, all photos and videos that have been safely backed up to the cloud are deleted from local storage. In other words, Google Photos will delete the original photo.
The Free up space option provides a brief summary of how many photos and videos will be deleted. On Android, you can also see the expected space savings. After tapping the option, confirm that you want to continue. After that, Google Photos will automatically delete all originals from the device. Don’t worry because the backups of those copies are in the cloud.
Whenever Google Photos makes a new upload of any new photos and videos you shoot, the Free up space option will show up again. If you don’t see it at the top of the screen, you can always access it via the Google Photos menu.
Truth:
How can I see my photos
After using the Free up space option, you can still access your photos and videos via Google Photos. The application will list the placeholders (in the form of thumbnails) of all deleted items. When you tap one, Google Photos caches a backed up copy from Google’s servers and displays the photo or video.
But because photos and videos don’t show up locally, you can’t use any of the native Gallery apps in Android or the Photos app in iOS to view them.
After freeing up space, you can still access your photos and videos via Google Photos
However, if you’re on an unstable connection, viewing your photo library in Google Photos may be slower than usual. And if you lose internet access, you won’t be able to view them. That’s one of the big downsides to using the Free Up Space option.
Truth:
Can I get my photos back?
Google Photos lets you download any deleted items pretty easily. Just tap the placeholder thumbnail of a photo or video in Google Photos and keep an eye on that by tapping the three-dot icon at the top of the screen. Finally, tap Save to device.
That works well if you want ready access to certain items without having to depend on an internet connection.
Tip:
What if I use High Quality Settings
The Unlimited High Quality upload setting for backing up your photos and videos has a serious limitation. Google compresses uploaded copies to a certain extent (up to 16MP for photos and 1080p for videos).
Since using the Free up space option will delete your local copies (or the originals at full quality), you can only view or download compressed copies from Google Photos. That’s something you need to take into account if you want to keep the original.
If you’ve used Factory Settings to upload your photos and videos, you don’t need to worry about this.
Can I delete selected photos?
You can delete individual photos and videos from local storage while keeping backups intact. That’s great for those cases where you just want to remove unimportant items from local storage. It’s a better method than selecting the Free up space option to delete all originals in bulk.
To do that, select a photo or video, tap the three-dot icon at the top of the screen, then tap Remove from device. You can enter selection mode by long-pressing on any thumbnail in the home screen on Android and iPhone. That way, you can select and delete multiple items from local storage simultaneously.
Warning:
Should I ‘Free up space’ on No?
Store photos and videos locally, unless your device is too cramped for storage. That way, you can conveniently access them at any time and keep your original copies intact if you use the High Quality setting.
If you plan on continuing, you should make additional backups to your PC, Mac, or another cloud storage service. Otherwise, using that Free Up Space option will only result in you having a single copy. It’s not good practice from a fallback perspective.
Next up: Ever wondered who can see your Google Photos? Check out our detailed guide to learning privacy.
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
