Google Photos is a fantastic fashion to see your photos and the powerful search makes it piece of cake to detect pictures of certain people, places or times. Before ane June 2021, Google did offer unlimited free storage for photos. Now, things take changed.

You only get 15GB of Google storage in full, which counts files on your Google Drive and Gmail, as well equally Google Photos. Therefore, if you want to upload more than photos and videos that will accept your limit past 15GB, you'll need to buy more storage with Google Ane.

At that place's four tiers of storage currently on Google One. These are:

  • fifteen GB - Free
  • 100 GB - £i.59 per calendar month/£15.99 per year
  • 200 GB - £2.49 per month/£24.99 per yr
  • two TB - £7.99 per calendar month/£79.99 per year

Sadly, no unlimited storage option is currently available. Y'all'll have to look at other Cloud storage options if yous want that. You tin can too make more than room for photos and video by clearing out large files on your Google Drive.

At that place's no need to worry about existing files from before 1 June, every bit these photos will remain on Google's servers and won't be deleted or blocked if y'all don't pay - that'southward a mutual misconception.

If, like me, y'all have a photo library total of pictures y'all took prior to owning a smartphone, chances are they're saturday on a hard drive somewhere. Google hasn't made it easy to upload them, but here'south are 2 ways to upload every unmarried photo, one of which is automated.

Upload to Google Photos via a web browser

Before I get to the all-time way, here's the obvious way: head to photos.google.com and click on Upload.

How to upload to Google Photos from Windows

Unfortunately, the easy way won't piece of work for most people because the Upload option in Google Photos will only upload the contents of a single folder.

Well-nigh people keep their photos in multiple folders so they have 'albums' for different occasions. Unless you're willing to go through dozens or even hundreds of folders and copy – or move – those photos into a single folder, you won't be able to use this option.

You could laboriously utilise the Upload push for each folder you have simply, again, that'due south impractical if you take a hundred or more.

TIP: Earlier you upload all your photos, upload 1 or ii and check that Google Photos can correctly identify when they were taken. Otherwise, you'll have a tough time finding them again.

One time uploaded, you should exist able to enter the engagement it was taken, such every bit '22 May 2000' and all photos from that engagement should be shown. If not, search for the exact filename of the photo you but uploaded, and Google Photos should show it. Click the i symbol at the top and you'll see the info for that photo.

How to upload to Google Photos

If there is a problem and the 'date taken' isn't identified correctly, yous'll demand to utilise a tool to edit this metadata.

Once you've hit the limit of what you can upload, Google will inform you. If y'all need more infinite, you tin get a premium Google 1 business relationship.

Upload to Google Photos via Backup & Sync

Then we come up to the all-time option for uploading your whole photograph library to Google Photos. It involves downloading Google's Backup & Sync utility, choosing a binder or folders to sync, then leaving it to upload the photos, as well every bit whatever videos in those folders.

If those folders happen to exist on a NAS drive as mine were, yous may detect you cannot select the root folder in Backup & Sync. The workaround is to create a binder inside that (call information technology upload or whatever yous like), then move all your folders of photos into that.

Here, step by stride, is how to go about installing Backup & Sync and uploading all those snaps to Google Photos.

Note: this only works for Windows computers and you'd need to install the Google Photos app on Android or iPhone if you want to upload the camera curlicue from your phone. This guide is primarily aimed at those who've already done that and now want to upload photos stored on their Windows laptop or PC.

1. First, head to the Google Photos website https://photos.google.com/apps and click the Download button.

How to upload to Google Photos

2. When the file is downloaded, click on information technology in your web browser, or navigate to the binder where downloaded files are stored – unremarkably Downloads. Double-click on the file (called installbackupandsync.exe) and click the GET STARTED button.

How to upload to Google Photos

3. You'll need to sign into your Google account, the one you apply for Google Photos.

4. On the 'ready-up' screen, choose Support photos and videos.

How to upload to Google Photos

5. Next, you need to tell Backup & Sync which folders your photos are in. This could be as uncomplicated as clicking the box adjacent to Pictures, merely if your photos are stored elsewhere, such as some other folder on your difficult drive, on an external bulldoze or on a NAS bulldoze, click CHOOSE FOLDER and navigate to it.

How to upload to Google Photos

You tin sync multiple folders, but you can't select multiple folders at the same time.

half dozen. Select the quality y'all desire for your photo/video - Storage Saver takes up less room, only compresses the file. Meanwhile Original Quality volition non compress the files, but will take upwardly more than storage in your quota.

7. Click START and Fill-in & Sync will begin uploading photos and videos in the folder(s) yous've chosen to Google Photos.

eight. If you desire to check on progress, click the ^ symbol on the Windows Taskbar and click the petty white deject symbol. You lot'll meet a scrolling list of the files being uploaded.

How to upload to Google Photos

How long it will take to upload all your photos and videos will depend on the total corporeality of data to be uploaded and the upload speed of your internet connexion, which is typically a lot slower than the download speed.

Leave your laptop or computer on while it's uploading the files. In my example, with a 16Mbps upload speed, it took around 24 hours to upload thirty,000 photos and videos from hundreds of folders on a NAS drive.

Again, the corporeality you'll exist able to upload volition depend on the corporeality of storage yous have in your Google One business relationship.

Related articles for further reading

  • All-time alternatives to Google Photos
  • What to do when Google Photos free storage ends
  • How to download all your photos from Google Photos in i go