Due to an email from Google, users fear that their precious photo memories have been defaced.
The pixel bird of horror
Google scares the users of the Google Photos app with a picture of a bird. Not because the picture itself is terrible, but because it suggests that all the photos previously stored in the cloud have been irrevocably ruined.
The pictures taken can be automatically uploaded to Google Photos in 2 quality levels: “High quality” and “Original quality”. The app states that “original quality” means that “photos and videos are saved without any loss of quality”. With “high quality”, “content of slightly lower quality is saved”.
Warning by mail
In 2015, when Google Photos was launched, Google said it was “almost identical in quality”. In an email that Google sends to the users of the app, it doesn't look like “almost identical quality” at all. On the left a bird can be seen normally, on the right it is brutally pixelated.
The pixel bird of horror
Google writes: “Photos in original quality get most of the details, let you zoom in and crop and print images with less pixelation.” Together with the image, this suggests that photos that are uploaded with “high quality” are practically useless.
Forever lost
That would be fatal for millions of Android users. Because with Google Photos, backing up photos with “high quality” has been free of charge since the introduction – that is, they are not deducted from the available Google One storage space.
That's why many users uploaded their pictures to Google Photos just like that. If you have then deleted the pictures on your mobile phone to free up storage space, a corresponding function is integrated in Google Photos, that would mean that you now only have heavily pixelated photos.
No panic
Even if the fear now arises that precious memories and successful selfies will turn into a mash of pixels: That is not the case. This rumor only spread because of the photo in the mail, as well as the upcoming deadline in June.
As things stand now, Google will not automatically convert photos uploaded with “High Quality” to a lower quality. However, from June 1, 2021, all images and videos uploaded to Google Photos will still be deducted from the storage space – regardless of the quality. Only 15 GB are free, if you upload more you have to pay.
Charge of scare tactics
The image sent by Google is calculated scare tactics, accuse users in the social networks of the US group. The aim is to get as many users as possible to switch to “original quality” because the photos uploaded in this way are larger. And larger images take up more storage space. And if more storage space is required, users have to take out paid cloud storage subscriptions.
However, the exaggerated image of the bird is not entirely unrealistic. Because photos in “high quality” are uploaded with a maximum of 16 megapixels and compression. Current cell phones, such as those from Samsung, can, if desired, take photos with more than 100 megapixels. If you were to zoom into such an image on a bird a little further away, the 16-megapixel photo would actually show noticeably lower details and look washed out and / or pixelated.
