Google Photos Will 'Free Up Space' on Your Phone

Have too many photos hogging space on your Android device? Google can help.

The Web giant on Tuesday started rolling out some handy new features for Android users of its Google Photos service, including a tool designed to help you free up some storage space on your device.

On the Settings screen, you'll now see an option labeled "Free Up Space," which will let you bulk delete copies of photos that have already been backed up from your phone or tablet. To prevent copies from being deleted by mistake, Google Photos will ask you to double confirm your intent before wiping them from your device, according to Google Project Engineer John Elstone.

Another new feature will let you downgrade previously uploaded photos from Original quality (full resolution) to High quality (a smaller, compressed file). Keep in mind that high-quality images don't count against your storage quota while original-quality snaps do.

The downgrade option will be rolling out on the Web on Wednesday. To downgrade to High quality, visit the Google Photos Settings page from your computer and click Recover Storage.

"If a user joined Google Photos and selected the 'Original quality' setting for their photos, but changed their mind, they could have future media backed up in 'High quality,'" Elstone explained in a Google+ post. "However, for media already backed up in 'Original quality' before then, users were in an awkward state: they had no way to downgrade that media to 'High quality.'"

Meanwhile, if you do back up your photos in High quality, you also may now receive a message asking if you want to bulk delete the copies from your device when your phone or tablet is reaching its storage limit. Until now, this feature has only been available for those backing up images in Original quality.

Finally, Google is also rolling out a fix that should prevent photos from popping up over and over, even after being deleted. Turns out, you'll need to delete the images from your device's SD card to get rid of them completely, and now you can.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade.

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes.

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app.

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth.

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light.

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

Read the latest from Angela Moscaritolo

Read full bio