Google Photos’ unlimited free storage officially ended in 2021. But even today, there are some smart tricks and workarounds that help you bypass storage limits. These methods work within Google’s own system, so they’re not illegal or risky though Google could change its policies in the future.
1. Partner Sharing Method
Google Photos has a built-in Partner Sharing option.
- You link your main Google account with a secondary account.
- When you back up photos to the secondary account, they automatically appear in your main account as well.
- This way, instead of just one free 15GB, you’re effectively using two accounts’ storage, while keeping your photos safe in both places.
2. Compression / Recover Storage
If your Google Photos is already filled with photos and videos, you can free up space by compressing them.
- Go to the Google Photos website and select the Recover Storage option.
- This converts all your older uploads to Storage Saver quality (compressed but still good enough).
- As a result, you can reclaim gigabytes of space without deleting anything.
3. Old Pixel Phone Hack
The most popular and long-term trick is the 2016 Pixel phone hack.
- The original Pixel (2016) had a unique lifetime perk: unlimited photo and video backups in original quality.
- If you buy a cheap used Pixel, you can install an app like Resilio Sync to automatically sync your main phone’s photos to the Pixel.
- The Pixel will then back them up to Google Photos without using up your main account’s storage.
- This still works today, making it a practical “unlimited forever” solution.
Bottom Line
Right now, direct unlimited Google Photos storage is no longer officially available. But you still have options:
- Partner Sharing gives you double storage.
- Recover Storage frees up space by compressing files.
- The Pixel hack provides a practical way to get lifetime unlimited backups.
All these methods work within Google’s system, but keep in mind that future policy changes could affect them.
See Also Samsung Good Lock: Unlocking the Power of Personalization
