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Google Photos is one of the most popular Android apps, but it was only a matter of time before Google started looking for ways to turn storage into a money-making machine. A new teardown of Photos 5.18 reveals that Google is thinking of limiting certain editing features to Google One members, making a paid membership the only way to access them.
The new in-app strings include prompts like “Get additional editing features with a Google One membership” and “Unlock this feature and more with a Google One membership.” Also, it seems that some people are already encountering this paywall in the wild. The Color Pop filter, which was previously available to everyone, appears to be part of a trial limiting its use to paid members.
Filters like Color Pop are being tested as exclusive to Google One.
It is not clear at this time exactly what functions and / or filters will be placed behind the paywall. Google Photos version 5.18 also includes mentions of new photo processing options including Dynamic, HDR, and Vivid, as well as new filters that can allow users to adjust the appearance of the sky with Afterglow, Airy, Ember, Luminous, options. Radiant and Stormy. . Hopefully, if Google ends up rolling out paid features more widely, they’ll be new instead of the previously free ones.
We saw the launch of a new photo printing subscription last month, and Google has been working on ways to make Google One memberships more attractive to consumers, such as offering a free VPN service. Google currently allows users to store unlimited high-quality photos and videos in the cloud, so it makes sense that the company is trying to find ways to help offset costs. Let’s just hope you can afford to continue to keep the essentials of Photos cloud storage free for those who trust it.
Google Photos 5.18 is out now on APK Mirror, or you can wait to update via Play Store.
Clarification
Google told Engadget in a statement that only an upgraded version of Color Pop will require a Google One subscription, not the existing functionality that is already available. “In Google Photos, pop color is a feature that is still available for anyone to use, free of charge, for photos with depth information (such as portrait mode),” the spokesperson said. “As part of an ongoing rollout that began earlier this year, Google One members can apply the feature to more photos of people, including those without detailed information.”
