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how to free up space Google Photos

Posted on by Kineticstar
20
Nov

📸 The Google Photos Red Alert: How to Save Your Memories Before the Digital “Collapse”! (Google Takeout Guide)

 

If you’ve recently seen that annoying message warning you that your Google storage space is running low, you are not alone. It’s like the fire alarm going off in your digital archive! Google Photos, once our faithful and unlimited memory warehouse, now asks us to face the reality of limited space (especially if you don’t have a Google One subscription). But fear not: there is a simple and powerful way to regain control and download all your photos in bulk, freeing up space and securing your memories on your PC.

This operation will not only help you solve the emergency, but it is also a wise practice of backup, a word that the computer scientist in me urges you to learn!

 

Our Goal: Use Google’s Secret Weapon (That Few Know About)

 

Google has thought of everything, even the moment you decide to “migrate” or simply make a security copy. The secret weapon is called Google Takeout. Think of it as an armored truck that arrives at your house, loads all your data from Google Photos, and delivers it to you in a sealed package, ready to be unpacked on your computer.

Follow these 6 fundamental steps and you will become a true backup professional!

 

🛠️ Phase 1: Preparation and Access to Google Takeout

 

 

Step 1.1: Access the Control Room

 

Open your favorite browser and go to this magical address:

[ https://takeout.google.com/ ]

If you are not already logged in, Google will ask you to enter your account credentials.

 

Step 1.2: The Interface: One Click to Select Photos Only

 

Once inside Takeout, you will see a long list of all Google services. Don’t panic! The goal is to download only the photos.

  1. Look for the “Deselect all” button (usually at the top). Click on it.

  2. Now, scroll down the list until you find “Google Photos”.

  3. Check only and exclusively the box next to “Google Photos”.

📝 The SEO Expert’s Tip: Keeping only Google Photos not only speeds up the export but also reduces the size of the final file, making the download faster and more manageable.

 

🗄️ Phase 2: Customizing the Export (The Detail That Makes the Difference)

 

 

Step 2.1: Choose Quality and Your Albums (Optional)

 

Next to “Google Photos,” there is a button that says “All photo albums included”. Click on it!

  • If you want everything: Leave all boxes checked.

  • If you only want the last few years: Deselect the years you know you have already saved and select only the most recent albums. This helps you free up space immediately for fresh content!

Click “OK” and then scroll to the bottom of the page to find the “Next step” button.

 

Step 2.2: The Settings for the Final “Package”

 

Now you have to tell Google how you want to receive your memories. There are a few simple choices:

  1. Delivery method: Leave it as “Send download link via email”. This is the easiest way.

  2. Frequency: Leave it as “Export once”.

  3. File type: Choose “.zip”. This is the standard format that Windows opens without issues.

  4. Size (The Critical Choice!): This is the most important part for beginners!

    • If you have many photos (hundreds of GB): Choose “50 GB”. Google will split the archive into multiple 50 GB files. This is safer in case the download is interrupted, and your computer won’t have trouble managing files that are too large.

    • If you only have a few GB of photos: You can leave the default option (usually 2 GB or 4 GB).

Once everything is set, click the large blue button: “Create export”.

 

⏳ Phase 3: The Wait and the Reception of the Treasure

 

 

Step 3.1: Google’s Work and the Magic Email

 

Google Takeout is now in action. Be patient: for hundreds of GB, you might have to wait up to 24-48 hours. Google will send you an email with the subject: “Your Google data is ready to download”.

Open the email and click the “Download your files” button.

 

💾 Phase 4: Downloading and Unpacking on Windows

 

 

Step 4.1: The Download and Stability

 

Clicking the link will start the download (or downloads, if you chose to split the archive into multiple ZIP files). Save it in a folder you can easily remember.

The Computer Scientist’s Tip: If the file is huge, make sure you have enough free space and, if possible, use a stable connection (an Ethernet cable is always better than Wi-Fi in these cases!).

 

Step 4.2: Opening ZIP Files (Easy Unpacking)

 

Once the .zip file (or files) has been downloaded:

  1. Go to the folder where you saved it.

  2. Right-click on the ZIP file.

  3. In the menu that appears, choose “Extract All…”.

    💡 Tech Note: On Windows 10 and 11 operating systems, you do not need to install any extra software. The “Extract All” function is native and handles ZIP files perfectly.

  4. Create a new folder (e.g., “Google Photos Backup 2025”) and start the extraction.

 

Step 4.3: Admire the Result and Check Your Data

 

Enter the folder you just created. You will find your photos and videos, organized into subfolders by date or album.

The Reviewer’s Rule: Don’t delete anything until you have checked!

  • Open at least 10-15 random photos and some videos from the backup folders.

  • Make sure they are intact and that there are no errors.

  • Don’t worry about the small .json files you will find: they contain the metadata (date taken, location) and are harmless. Your images are safe!

 

🚨 Phase 5: Safe Deletion (The Most Critical Point)

 

Congratulations! You have a local backup. Now you need to free up space, but you must do it wisely to avoid losing your data.

 

⚠️ CRUCIAL WARNING: The Beginner’s Mistake

 

If you delete a photo from your smartphone gallery (while the Google Photos app is still active and synced), you risk the deletion propagating to the cloud!

How to Delete Safely to Free Up Space:

  1. Temporarily Disable Sync: On your smartphone, go to the Google Photos app > Settings > Backup & Sync, and disable it. This stops communication between the phone and the cloud.

  2. Deletion from the Cloud (Web): Go to the website http://photos.google.com from your computer. This is the safest way to ensure you are only deleting from the cloud.

  3. Delete the old photos/videos you just downloaded and are 100% sure you have a perfect copy on your PC.

  4. Empty the Cloud Trash: After deleting, go to the Google Photos Trash (still on the web) and empty it. Only at this point will the space actually be freed up.

  5. Reactivate Sync: After freeing up space, you can reactivate backup on your phone.

You have secured your digital history, solved the Google One space problem, and become a true expert in data management!

Kineticstar