First Google ends free unlimited storage. Then it announced your data could be deleted after two years of inactivity. Today, a new Google Photos storage bug has been discovered. This bug caused photos and videos to inaccurately count towards users’ storage quota.
The issue has been fixed, but it was present throughout all of 2020. However, Google is offering refunds to users for Google One storage which is good. Google, specifically the Photos team, is reaching out to users who were impacted by this bug. Luckily, Google says the issue seems to apply to only a ‘limited number of people.”
The good news is that Google says all uploads are safe and only the storage quota is what the bug affected. Google goes on to explain that it may have accidentally counted certain photos towards the overall storage quota that some users were allowed across all of Google’s products, including Gmail, Drive, Photos, and more. Google says this was not supposed to happen and that these photos weren’t supposed to be counted towards the quota.
Google Photos storage bug is fixed. Refunds for Google One purchases begin
Google Photos storage has allowed users to store an unlimited amount of photos and videos since it was launched. This only applied to high-quality photos and not the original size of the photos. The original sized photos have always counted toward storage. With this bug though some users’ high-quality photos counted toward their storage quota. Google offers 15GB of free storage across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. Their Google One subscription plan allows users to buy more starting at 100GB of storage.
Google is reaching out to customers who purchased extra storage via a Google One plan once they saw their storage was full. Google says that “because we mistakenly let you know that you were out of storage space” users may have purchased a Google One plan.
As a result of this issue, Google is requesting a “refund from the App Store on your behalf for your Google One Subscription fees beginning January 8 through October 20.” This seems to apply solely to iPhone users as it is unclear if Android users are impacted.
In the meantime, Google has fixed the issue. The counter which reflects usage across Google Photos and other products is now fixed. The counter shows a user’s accurate usage now.
As the end of unlimited free storage slowly approaches, this is another bit of unfortunate news for users who rely on Google’s cloud services. To clarify the problem has been fixed and refunds have been requested on users’ behalf.