Starting June 1, 2021, Google will charge for storing more than 15GB of photos.

And this 15GB will also be used by any Google Docs or spreadsheets in your Google Drive.

The bad news is, there arent any decent free alternatives for online photo storage.

Someone taking selfies at a seaside promenade.

Westend61 / Getty Images

Youll still get 15GB free storage, and after that you canincrease the size of your Google Drive.

100GB will only cost you $1.99 per month, for example.

Youll also have to upload all your existing pics to the new service, recreate albums, and more.

Someone looking at photos on a computer and a smartphone with pictures on the table beside the computer.

LeoPatrizi / Getty Images

Photos is both your online storage and your phones photo app.

Flickr also host a great community, and seems to be coming back after Yahoo tried to kill it.

500pxis all about the photos.

You get 2,000 photos free, and then its $2.99 per month.

500px looks great, and really focusses on the photos.

If you already use Prime, this is the best free option.

SmugMugis another long-established player.

It starts at $7 per month, and is likely to be around for a while.

Dropboxcan also take care of your photos, and even upload them from your camera roll automatically.

If youre using an iPhone, then Apples iCloud Photo Library is the most obvious option.

Keep It Local

How about not using online storage at all?

You miss out on one well-maintained backup, but you gain a few advantages.

One is that you could use whatever app you like to store and view your photos on your setup.

it’s possible for you to even just keep them in folders.

Next is the privacy advantage.

The disadvantages, though, are many.

For a start, syncing photos between your devices is much harder.

Youll also be responsible for your own backups.

An online photo library isnt a real backup, but for many people its all they have.

If you fly solo, then youll have to back up, or you will eventually lose your photos.

In conclusion, then, if you like Google Photos, you should probably just stick with it.

Hopefully, it will continue to be a good and useful service, but you never know.

On the other hand, maybe Google is just having a clear-out.