Opinion: I’ve been a Google One subscriber for about 3 years and have been happy with the subscription service during that time. Not only do you have more storage for your photos, videos, and other files, but you also get a ton of other benefits that make your deal even sweeter.
problem? Google is rapidly reducing these features, and with it the general appeal of Google One. In fact, I’ve reached the point where I’m considering canceling my subscription entirely.
When I first signed up, my Google One subscription consisted of a core cloud storage upgrade (200GB in my case) and an additional up-charge. These come in a variety of forms, from the not-so-useful (like sharing your precious storage with friends and family) to the pretty valuable perks like Google Store discounts. All for a relatively low asking price of £2.49 per month.
Its list of additional features included Google VPN, which provides secure internet access without a dedicated VPN subscription.
Google’s VPN is pretty basic compared to the best VPNs like ExpressVPN and Nord VPN, doesn’t have the ability to choose server locations, and can’t be used on a variety of devices, instead offering it on iPhone, iPad, Windows, and Mac. It was limited. Great profit nonetheless.
I’m not an avid user of VPNs due to pure laziness, but I found them useful on the rare occasions I connected to open public Wi-Fi.
Well, it doesn’t seem like that option will be available anytime soon, as Google has confirmed it is shutting down its VPN service due to lack of interest from consumers, and there is no replacement service in place for Google One subscribers. There’s no word yet on when it will be phased out, but it should happen within the next few months.
This would have been large enough to swallow a Google One pill, but Google didn’t stop there. no. Early Monday morning, I received the following email from Google: other The Google One changes will go into effect less than a month from now, on May 15, 2024.
More than just losing VPN access
And luckily, these changes affect another important feature of Google One that I use regularly: the editing capabilities of the Google Photos app.
More specifically, this relates to Magic Eraser, Portrait Light, Color Focus, and Sky Editing features. These features were previously only available to Google Pixel users and Google One subscribers.
Even if Magic Eraser is not effective, the best As a result, this was a useful feature that I used from time to time to remove annoying distractions from my snaps. The Sky feature was similarly useful for giving photos a certain look or feel.
Don’t get me wrong. While it’s great that Google has opened up editing features that were previously exclusive to Pixel and Google One for free to all Google Photos users, it doesn’t necessarily reward long-time Google One subscribers.Not making an offer feels like a bit of a slap in the face. something elsewhere.
So, by my count, last month Google removed two of the most compelling reasons to choose a Google One account over readily available and cheaper cloud storage services like Dropbox or OneDrive.
of only For now, what locks me into a Google One subscription is the expanded cloud storage for photos and videos in Google Photos.
I have over 10 years of photos and videos in Google’s cloud storage, but even though free photo storage is currently available in Amazon Photos with Prime, it’s a little difficult to download and transfer to another cloud service. Tedious. subscription. But there’s never been a greater temptation to migrate, as Google One offers less value than ever.
