Google Photos allows users to store unlimited photos and videos, provided they agree with Google compressing their files. Nonetheless, the unlimited storage premise is certainly a perk we can’t complain about. But Google has now made a slight change regarding the file type support for Google Photos which came into effect less than a week ago.
Google has updated the Google Photos support page and has added an ‘Important’ note which states that ‘Unsupported videos uploaded after December 6, 2018 take up storage space.’ What this means is certain video file formats will no longer be eligible for Google Photos’ unlimited storage.
So, what video file types have been axed? Google Photos currently has support for a ton of video formats which include .mpg, .wmv, .asf, .avi, .divx, and .mkv files files among others. However, the key omissions are unlimited storage support for videos recorded in RAW and VOB format.
However, it doesn’t mean that you can’t store RAW or VOB videos on the cloud. Google Photos will still host videos captured in the two formats, but the storage space will be deducted from your Google Drive storage quota. The same goes for the video formats not mentioned on the Google Photos support page.
Following is the updated list of video files that can be stored on Google Photos without any storage from your Drive being used. The policy changes on December 6th.
- .mpg
- .mod
- .mmv
- .tod
- .wmv
- .asf
- .avi
- .divx
- .mov
- .m4v
- .3gp
- .3g2
- .mp4
- .m2t
- .m2ts
- .mts
- .mkv
The end of unlimited Google Photos storage for unsupported video files will certainly be disappointing for users who record videos in RAW format to capture the maximum amount of details. However, images clicked in RAW format will still be eligible for free unlimited storage.
