Google Photos is a great application, but we must recognize that some essential parts of its functioning in Android do not end up making much sense. Like the use of storage. Thus, it is normal for the app to occupy more than 1 GB of internal storage, or even 10 GB.
Ironically, one of the strengths of Google Photos is that it allows you to free up disk space by backing up your photos in the cloud, thus being able to erase photos from your mobile and free up space. However, the application itself gets fatter with time, and you should take the initiative periodically to stop it.
First, it frees up space
First of all, it never hurts to open Google Photos, go to its settings and touch on Unlock device space. This will remove local copies of photos that have already been stored in Google’s cloud, potentially freeing up some megabytes of space.
However, before pressing the button, keep in mind that the backup in “high quality” reduces the size of the photos, so you would be without your original copy at higher quality. If that does not matter to you – either you already have a copy of your photos, or you use the original quality backup – then press the button without fear.
Then, delete the data
Now comes what will really stop the fattening of Google Photos: delete the application data. Unfortunately and to the surprise of many users who see how the application is slowly conquering the space of your mobile, there is no official solution to control how much storage the Google Photos app will use. The only thing you can do is erase the data.
To do so, the process is the same as always. You need to go to the application information, storage section and click on Clear data. This will not erase your photos, which are safe either on your mobile, or in the Google cloud, so the only thing you will lose is the configuration of the application. And a few hundred megabytes occupied.
It’s a temporary solution, but for now it’s the only possible
The next time you open Google Photos it will be as if you just installed it. You must reconfigure it, although after logging in with your account the process is very fast. What bothers most is accepting all the tips and information assistants.
Of course, the solution is temporary. As you use Google Photos, it will start again monopolizing the storage space of your mobile. Until Google does not include a limit or a way to control it from the application, your only alternative is to erase the data periodically each time you notice that it has crossed the line. It is not the most comfortable way, but it works.
