Is your phone’s storage starting to fill up?
Don’t fret, there’s a solution that doesn’t involve deleting all your files. All it takes is accessing cloud storage, one you might already have if you signed up for an email: Google Drive.
Unsure about the service or you don’t know how to upload photos in Google Drive? We’ve got you covered with our guide below showcasing all the ways you can upload to Google Drive.
Your Google Plan
The first thing you need is to get a Google plan. You can settle for the free Workspace that you get when you sign up and make your email account. However, if you want the full range of features of Google Workspace, you need to upgrade to a paid subscription.
Google Workspace, formerly G Suite, gives you 15 GB of free cloud storage. This is for Google Photos, email, and Google Drive.
The paid tiers give 100 GB, 200 GB, 2 TB, and 5 TB of space. For those who need even more space, Google Drive now offers 10 TB, 20 TB, and 30 TB storage too. Prices start from $2 a month for 100 GB to $300 a month for 30 TB.
Regardless of which plan you sign up for, you’ll need to download Google Drive on your phone or have it on your web browser before you can start uploading. Since this is a cloud system, you will also need a stable Internet connection to upload or access saved files.
Uploading Directly to Google Drive
The first option is to upload a file directly to Google Drive. There are two ways you can do this, applicable to both PC and mobile users.
For people on PC, simply open a browser and sign in to your Gmail account. From there, access the Google Workspace apps (which includes Docs, Excel, YouTube, and more) to find Google Drive. Click on it to reach the Google Drive dashboard.
On mobile, download the Google Drive app. Open it, sign in, and you’ll reach the dashboard.
Now that you’re in the dashboard, right-click on the open space or tap on the plus sign at the bottom. You’ll have the option to upload files, make new folders, or synchronize files from Google Docs and other apps. Choose “upload files” and you can then select all the files you want to keep on the cloud.
For PC users, you can also drag and drop the files you want to upload. This is an easier option when you have a lot of files to upload.
Syncing With Google Photos
If the process above is a little tedious, don’t fret because there is another method that doesn’t involve manually uploading photos. You can opt to automatically synchronize with Google Photos, which connects to your Google Drive despite having a different dashboard.
Either access Google Photos via a web browser or through the mobile app. Log in and then go to settings. From there, choose to back up and synchronize. This will set the app to automatically synchronize new photos to your cloud storage any time there’s new content.
Keep in mind, however, that Google Photos has a few caveats. Unless you pay for the premium monthly services, you won’t be able to maintain high-quality photos and videos. You can still upload them but expect the visual quality to slightly drop.
Photos, as of the time of writing, have to be under 200 MB and 150 megapixels. While this might not be an issue now, smartphones are slowly catching up. The Samsung Galaxy 21 Ultra, for example, can already take 108-megapixel photographs.
Sharing From an App
Do you want to upload photos to your Google Drive folder or Google Photos directly from an app? The good news is you can.
As a starting point, open your camera app. Take a photograph and once it renders, tap on the Share button. This is the button that looks like a mathematical “less than” sign.
Doing so will bring up numerous apps you use, from Instagram to Facebook and your Google Workspace. Select Google Photos or Google Drive. You’ll then be able to select which Google Drive folder to upload the photo to.
It’s that quick and easy.
You can apply this process to most of the apps you used. Got a photo on Facebook or Instagram that you want to keep? Tap on the photo and look for the share button.
If the share button isn’t visible, look for a menu marker. This either looks like three horizontal lines stacked on each other (the hamburger menu) or three dots. Open the menu and look for an option to share the file.
Enabling Multiple Users
Don’t forget that you can also enable others to upload and access your Google Drive folders. Simply go to your Google Drive, select the folder you want to give access to, and then click on Share.
This will bring up a menu that lets you alter who gains access and the permissions they have. For example, you can let people with the link to the folder have full access or they can only download files but not alter the folder’s contents.
Granting other people access can get a little messy. There may be duplicate files consuming your storage space, which becomes a nuisance when you pay for additional storage. You can check out this guide here for tips on dealing with duplicate files.
Now You Know How to Upload Photos in Google Drive
Learning how to upload photos in Google Drive not only ensures you keep your files wherever you go, but also brings convenience and practicality. Now you don’t have to waste storage on your PC or phone because all your photos are on the cloud.
But why stop with this guide?
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