Do you use an online backup service in place of or in addition to Google Photos?

By Jeramy Johnson
published

Pixel 4a Alex Google Photos Outside
Pixel 4a Alex Google Photos Outside (Image credit: Alex Dobie / Android Central)

As Android users, we're big fans of the standard suite of Google Apps, including Maps, Gmail, and, of course, Google Photos. Not only does Google Photos offer a lot of free storage (though this is changing somewhat), it brings accessible editing tools and fantastic organization as well. But it's not the only option out there. Many people use an alternative to back up their photos, whether that be as a hedge against Google Photos or in place of it altogether. From Amazon Photos to Microsoft OneDrive and DropBox to a home-based NAS solution, there are several solid options to choose from.

This little thread on the AC forums got us thinking about photo backups this morning...

Since we need to pay for Google Photos in this June, I wanna ask couple questions. 1. If we pay Google Photos, they will give us unlimited storage or limited? 2. What will happen to my photos that have been backup on paid Google Photos if I don't pay the next month?

Android Central Question

Welcome to Android Central! There's no paying for Google Photos on its own -- you need to pay to expand your Google Drive storage beyond the usual free 15 GB using the Google One plan: https://one.google.com/about/plans Any photos that are already backed up to your Google Photos will remain safe, and won't suddenly count toward your Google Drive storage. Only after June 2021 will newly...

B. Diddy

I pay $2.99/ month for 200gb. I'm seriously thinking about seeing up a nas. Network attached storage. To have control over my photos. I have memories dating back to 2006 on google photos. It would suck to lose them all if something were to somehow happen on google's end. There will come a time when that 200gb will be used up. I could get a 1 or 2 tb drive and set up a nas. I just need to...

Joshua Luther2

Google has such immense storage capacity and redundancy upon redundancy that I'd say it's pretty much impossible for them to lose your photos. But you're right, at some point, you might use up all 200 GB of cloud storage. Another option to consider if you're an Amazon Prime subscriber would be Amazon Photos, which is unlimited (at original quality).

B. Diddy

We want to hear from you — Do you use an online backup service in place of or in addition to Google Photos? If so, which ones? Let us know!

Join the conversation in the forums!

Jeramy Johnson
Jeramy Johnson
Editor-in-chief

Jeramy is the Editor-in-Chief of Android Central. He is proud to help *Keep Austin Weird* and loves hiking in the hill country of central Texas with a breakfast taco in each hand. You can follow him on Twitter at @jeramyutgw.

10 Comments
  • OneDrive. You get 1TB with MS365. Even though it's photo side isn't as good as Google Photos: 1. All photos gets put in a single folder, regardless of what folder they were on the phone.
    2. The OneDrive Android App and Website are poor at viewing photos. But I use Samsung Gallery and File Explorer to actually view photos so it's fine. I've never used Google Photos.
  • Same here. I use MS365 so I take advantage of the included 1TB of storage with OneDrive and so far, it's been working fantastic. Faster internet speeds (both home and mobile) in my area means that it is more feasible to use cloud storage now.
  • Yea, my HD and their backups as needed! I do not let Google back up anything...NOTHING! However, pictures I take on my phone are only pictures, cool to have, nice to maybe show to someone, but if lost...I will not give a darn.
    Photos, not pictures I want to keep are taken with one of my many Nikons from a D3100 to one of my D850s. My pixels is a phone, and a small computer to access the internet and a message retriever/sender. When traveling, it is also used to keep files such as Dog medical records, repair manuals for my trailer, etc. But a camera? Not really. And Google? NEVER!
  • Not yet. I've had the 200GB Google One plan for a few years but I'm getting warnings from Google that it's almost full. I don't think the higher GB plans are worth it so I'll need to start looking for another solution. I occasionally backup my photos to an external hard drive but a cloud solution is easiest for everyone in the family.
  • I use OneDrive and my local NAS as well as a cold copy on external drives. Just started using Google Photos last November, set up as a replica of my OneDrive syncing via MultCloud. I wanted to use it to try Google Services on the same collection that I had on OneDrive. I found no additional benefit other than having a secondary cloud backup. When Google announced it was going to become a paid service, I simply ignored it and will get rid of it as soon as required.
  • Onedrive.
    I would transition to that 100%, however how will I get the pictures on the google display? We'll see what we do.
  • OneDrive. Not only from my Windows Phone days but because of Samsung's teaming up with them.
  • Yep, jottacloud, secur, encrypted, europe storage!
  • Not yet but I've been thinking I need a backup storage spot. Too many photos of my two year old that are too precious to risk losing
  • i have Google One for $19 a year. also use iCloud photos and Microsoft Onedrive for photos. I have them in more than google because google has already lost ALL my emails twice in the last 12 years, so i don't trust google to keep anything safe.