How to Compress Photos in Google Photos: Complete Tutorial

Google Photos is one of the most widely used cloud storage services for saving photos and videos, but its free limit of 15 GB, shared with Gmail and Google Drive, has led millions of users to look for ways to optimize the available space.

Compressing photos in Google Photos is the most effective solution to free up storage without needing to subscribe to paid plans.

Why Compress Photos in Google Photos?

Prior to June 2021, Google Photos offered unlimited and free storage for photos in "high quality" (now called "storage saver").

However, from that date onwards, all new photos and videos count towards the 15 GB limit, regardless of the quality selected.

Benefits of Compression

Compressing your photos in Google Photos allows you to:

• Free up significant space : You can recover several gigabytes by compressing photos stored in their original quality.
• Avoid additional costs : you don't need to subscribe to Google One plans
• Maintain acceptable visual quality : compression is imperceptible to the human eye in most cases.
• Continue using the free service : extend the use of your account without payment limits.

Limitations of Free Space

The 15GB limit is shared between three Google services:

• Google Drive : documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and uploaded files
• Gmail : emails and their attachments
• Google Photos : photos and videos

This means that if your Gmail is full or you have many files in Drive, your available space for photos is considerably reduced.

Understanding Quality Options in Google Photos

Google Photos offers different quality levels for storing your images and videos:

Original Quality

• Preserve the full resolution  as captured by your device
• It allows photos larger than 16 megapixels without reduction.
• It uses more  storage space
• Account for the 15 GB limit
• Ideal for professional photographers or large format prints

Storage Savings (formerly High Quality)

• Compress photos up to a maximum of 16 megapixels
• Reduces file size by 50-80% without noticeable visual loss.
• It allows you to print good quality photos in sizes up to 60.96 cm × 40.64 cm
• It still counts towards the 15 GB limit
• Recommended for average users who want to optimize space.

Express (limited to certain regions)

•  Compress photos to a maximum of 3 megapixels
• Videos are compressed to 480p resolution.
• Not available in all countries
• Maximum space savings but with a significant loss of quality

How to Compress Photos Already Stored (From a Computer)

The feature to compress photos already saved in Google Photos  is only available from the web version  on your computer. You can't perform this operation from the mobile app.

Step 1: Access Google Photos Web

1. Open your web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
2. Go to  photos.google.com
3. Sign in with your Google account if you haven't already done so.

Step 2: Enter Storage Settings

1. Once inside Google Photos, locate the  gear icon (⚙️)  in the upper right corner of the screen
2. Click on the gear icon to open the settings menu
3. Select the "Manage storage"  or  "Storage" option 

Step 3: Recover Space with Compression

1. Scroll down until you find the  "Reclaim space " section.
2. Look for the option that says  "Convert photos and videos to storage-saving quality"
3. Click on the  "More information"  or  "Compress" button
4. Google will show you  how much space you can recover  if you compress all your photos in original quality.
5. Confirm that you agree to compress your images and videos.
6. Click  "Compress"  again to confirm the process.

Step 4: Wait for the Compression Process

• The process can take  anywhere from a few minutes to several hours , depending on the number of photos and videos you have.
• Do not close the browser tab  during the process
• Keep your computer turned on and connected to the internet.
• Once completed, you'll see how the space used in your Google storage has decreased significantly.

Important Limitations

• You can only compress photos once a day.
• This process  does not affect the quality of future uploads ; you will need to configure that separately.
• Compression is  irreversible : you cannot recover the original quality after compression.

How to Configure Backup Quality for Future Photos

To avoid running out of space in the future, you should change the quality at which new photos are automatically uploaded from your mobile phone.

From Computer (Web)

1. Go to  photos.google.com  and open your web browser.
2. Sign in with your Google account
3. Click on the  gear icon (⚙️)  in the upper right corner
4. Select  "Settings "
5. Look for the "Backup"  or  "Backup Settings " section. 
6. Select the "Storage saving" option   instead of "Original quality"
7. Exit settings and Google Photos will automatically apply the changes.

From Android

1. Open the  Google Photos app  on your Android device.
2. Tap your  profile picture or initial  in the top right corner
3. Select  "Google Photos settings "
4. Go to  "Backup"  or  "Backup and Sync"
5. Tap on  "Backup Quality"
6. Select  "Storage Saver"  instead of "Original Quality"
7. The process will take time, but the new photos will take up less space.

From iPhone or iPad (iOS)

1. Open the  Google Photos app  on your iOS device.
2. Tap your  profile or username  in the upper right corner.
3. Tap  "Settings "
4. Go to  "Backup"
5. Go to  "Backup Quality"
6. Choose  "Storage Saver"  to make your photos take up less space

Verify the Quality Change

To verify that the change was applied correctly:

1. Wait for the synchronization process to finish (this may take some time)
2. Open Google Photos and select a random image
3. Tap the  three dots (⋮)  in the upper right corner
4. Select  "Information"  or  "Details"
5. Check the quality of the photo (original or compressed)

Free Up Space on Your Mobile Device

Once your photos are backed up to Google Photos, you can delete them from the physical device to free up space on your phone or tablet.

Free up space on Android

1. Open the  Google Photos app  on your Android phone or tablet.
2. Sign in to your Google account
3. Tap your  profile picture or initial  in the top right corner.
4. Select  "Free up space on this device "
5. You will see the amount of space that will be freed (for example: "Free up 2.5 GB")
6. Tap  "Free up [x] GB from device"  to confirm.
7. The photos will be deleted from your phone but will remain in the Google Photos cloud.

Free up space on iOS

The process on iPhone or iPad is similar:

1. Open the  Google Photos app.
2. Tap your profile in the top right corner
3. Select  "Free up device space"
4. Confirm the amount of space to free up
5. Tap to delete backed-up photos

Important: Precautions

• Make sure your photos are backed up  before deleting them from your device.
• Deleted photos first go to the  trash , where they remain for 60 days before being permanently deleted.
• You can access your photos from  photos.google.com  or the Google Photos app after deleting them from your device.

Manage Storage from Your Mobile Device

Although you can't compress photos already stored on your phone, you can manage your storage space in other ways.

View Space Used

1. Open  Google Photos  on your mobile device
2. Tap your  profile  in the top right corner
3. Select  "Storage"  or  "Manage storage "
4. You'll see a breakdown of how much space they take up:
   • Large photos and videos
   • Screenshots
   • Blurry or duplicate photos

Remove Suggested Content

Google Photos will suggest content you can delete to free up space:

• Blurry photos : images that are out of focus or of low quality
• Screenshots : screenshots you may no longer need
• Duplicate photos : repeated images
• Large videos : clips that take up a lot of space

You can review these suggestions and remove what you don't need directly from the mobile app.

Visual Differences: Original Quality vs. Storage Savings

Actual Size Reduction

According to tests performed with modern devices, Google Photos compression significantly reduces file size:

• Photos of 6287 KB are reduced to 1378 KB (78% reduction)
• Photos of 3491 KB are reduced to 1378 KB (60% reduction)
• Photos of 6401 KB are reduced to 3561 KB (44% reduction)

On average, photos lose  between 50% and 80% of their file size  without reducing resolution (if they are 16 MP or less).

Visual Impact

• For  viewing on screens  (mobile phones, tablets, computers): the difference is  imperceptible.
• For  sharing on social media : you won't notice any difference.
• For  prints up to A2 size  (60 cm x 40 cm): the quality remains excellent
• For  large format printing  or professional use: original quality is recommended.

Technical Changes

When Google Photos compresses your images:

• Photos  larger than 16 MP are reduced to  exactly 16 MP
• Photos of 16 MP or less  maintain their resolution  but the file is compressed
• The videos are kept in good quality but with optimized compression
• An intelligent compression algorithm is used that preserves important details.

Google One plans: Payment alternatives

If you still need more space after compressing your photos, you can subscribe to a Google One plan.

Google One 2026 Pricing (Spain)

• Basic Plan (100 GB) : €1.99 per month
• Premium Plan (2 TB) : €9.99 per month
• AI Premium Plan (2 TB + Gemini Advanced) : €21.99 per month

If you choose to pay annually, you can get  up to a 29% discount  on the total price.

Additional Benefits of Google One

• Priority technical support  from Google experts
• Share the plan with up to 5 family members
•  Automatic device backups
• Premium editing features  in Google Photos
• Access to Google VPN  (higher plans)

Recent Price Changes

In February 2025, Google One increased its prices in several Latin American countries:

• Mexico: The 100 GB plan went from 34 to 39 Mexican pesos (a 14.7% increase)
• Existing users saw the change reflected from March 21, 2025

Alternatives to Google Photos with Free Storage

If you don't want to pay for more storage, there are alternatives to Google Photos with generous free space:

Amazon Photos

• 5 GB free  for all users
• Unlimited photo storage  if you're an Amazon Prime subscriber (5 GB for videos)
• Mobile and web app available

MEGA

• 20 GB free  initial storage
• Option to expand up to 50 GB with tasks and references
• Strong focus on privacy and encryption

Dubox (Terabox)

• 1 TB (1024 GB) completely free
• Ideal for storing thousands of photos and videos
• No mandatory payment plans
• Considered one of the best current alternatives

pCloud

• 10 GB of free
• Two-step verification
• Fast file transfer regardless of size.

MediaFire

• 10 GB free  initial storage
• Option to expand space with references
• Simple and fast interface

Telegram

• Unlimited storage  for photos and videos (with some file size limitations)
• You can create a private channel to store your photos
• Access from any device

Advanced Tips for Optimizing Space

Remove Unnecessary Content in Gmail

Remember that Gmail shares its 15 GB of storage with Google Photos. To free up more space:

1. Go to  mail.google.com
2. Search for emails with large attachments using:  has:attachment larger:10M
3. Delete old emails with large attachments
4. Empty the  trash and spam  folder   regularly.

Clean up Google Drive

Google Drive also uses your shared storage:

1. Go to  drive.google.com
2. Click on  "Storage"  in the left sidebar
3. Sort files by size
4. Delete large documents you no longer need
5. Empty the Drive trash

Export Important Photos in Original Quality

Before compressing all your photos, consider:

1. Identify particularly important photos (events, trips, professional portraits)
2. Download them to your computer in original quality
3. Save backups to an external hard drive or SSD
4. Only then should I compress the photos in Google Photos.

Schedule Periodic Cleanings

• Set a  monthly reminder  to check your Google storage.
• Delete blurry, duplicate, and unnecessary screenshots
• Compress new photos that you've accidentally uploaded in their original quality
• Review and delete old emails with large attachments

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I lose quality when I compress photos in Google Photos?

Compression slightly reduces technical quality, but for most uses (screen display, social media, printing up to A2) the difference is imperceptible to the human eye.

Can I recover the original quality after compression?

No, the compression process is  irreversible . That's why it's important to make local backups of very important photos before compressing them.

Why can't I compress files from my mobile device?

Google has limited this functionality to the web version only for technical and user experience reasons. The process can be resource-intensive and is more stable on a computer.

How much space can I recover by compressing?

It depends on how many photos you have in their original quality and their resolution. Users with many high-resolution photos can recover  several gigabytes  or even tens of gigabytes.

Does compression affect videos?

Yes, videos are also compressed when you use "Storage Saver", but Google maintains acceptable visual quality for playback on most screens.

Can I compress only some specific photos?

No, Google Photos' compression feature is global: it compresses  all  photos and videos at their original quality at once. There's no option to select individual photos.

Conclusion

Compressing photos in Google Photos is an effective strategy for maximizing your 15 GB of free storage without significantly compromising the visual quality of your images. The process, while only available on the desktop web version, is simple and can free up several gigabytes in a matter of minutes.

The key is to combine three strategies:

1. Compress photos already stored  in original quality using the "Recover space" function
2. Configure future backups  in "Storage Saving" mode
3. Free up device space  by deleting photos backed up to the cloud

Remember that the 15 GB of storage is shared between Google Photos, Gmail, and Google Drive, so optimizing these three services will give you the best results. If you still need more space, consider free alternatives like Dubox (1 TB free) or paid plans like Google One starting at €1.99 per month.