Do you use Google Photos to store images for school or even home? I discovered it a couple of years ago and have really depended on it to save and store all of my family photos from my phone, plus random images I find on the web.

Why it’s awesome

Whether you have the app on your device or use it through your browser, Google Photos gives you unlimited storage as long as you choose the setting to save your images as High Quality instead of the Original format (which will use up some of your Google Drive storage allotment).

Did I mention that it’s FREE? As long as you have a Gmail account, you have access to the entire Google Suite of Apps, including Google Photos. SWEET!

Because you refuse to delete anything…

This is my go-to method of backing up my photos on my phone rather than paying for more iCloud storage! You can even set it up to back up automatically for you in the background. Should you go this route, you probably want to change your settings so that it only backs up while you’re connected to Wifi. Otherwise, you’ll burn through your data.

I’ve been able to backup my entire Camera Roll on my phone, delete the not-so-important ones, and still see and access them through the Google Photos app or on the web. If I want any of those deleted photos back on my phone, I could easily download it again.

If you like to document your classroom and teaching

I probably don’t do this enough, but I know that many teachers like to take pictures of lessons in action, final projects, fun dress-up days, etc. If this is you, then Google Photos will be your best friend.

Not only does it store those pics, you can quickly create shareable albums. Do you have a hundred pictures from 6th grade camp? Organize them in an album, or go a step further and create sub-albums for activities, class, day of the week, etc.

Do you do an end-of-the-year slideshow? Google Photos can take care of that for you if all of the photos are in one folder.

The most recent update

When I’m on my computer, I’ve become accustomed to going to Google Drive to see my Google Photos. However, they’ve created a new separate app just for Photos.

If you go to https://photos.google.com/, you’ll find that Google Photos now has its own dashboard instead of being part of Google Drive. Right away you’ll notice that the sidebar for Google Photos is now dedicated to ensuring that the storing and sharing of your family vacation or epic soccer game more user-friendly.

What if I don’t like this update?

Google Photos in Google Drive will go away soon – so be ready for it! This change is actually a good thing since you have more options for creating fun products such as collages, animations, and photo books.

However, if you still want the option to access your photos in Drive:

• Go to the cog icon on the right and select “Settings”
• In the “General” tab, scroll down and check the “Automatically put your Google Photos into a folder in My Drve”

Now go check out Google Photos and start storing those precious pics!