Google Photos may soon exclude certain image types during backups to conserve storage space. Users can either make use of the free 15 GB of storage or subscribe to Google One for additional capacity.
For photography enthusiasts, RAW files are often preferred due to their uncompressed and minimally processed nature. These files capture more detail than compressed formats, such as JPG, but at the expense of larger file sizes.
Because of the extensive detail stored in RAW images, they occupy more space, making uploads time-consuming and data-intensive. Currently, Google Photos backs up both RAW files and JPGs together, but this could change as Google aims to manage storage more effectively.
It appears that the company is considering not backing up RAW images by default, requiring users to enable this feature manually. A recent analysis of the Pixel Camera app’s version 9.8 revealed a code comment suggesting that RAW backups might not be automatic.
This means that if you want to store your RAW files in Google Photos, you will need to take action. In addition, Google appears to be working on making it easier for Pixel users to distinguish between different file formats.
Presently, users cannot differentiate between JPG and RAW files unless they go through the process of uploading them to a platform. The future version of Google Photos is likely to introduce a separate folder for RAW images, preventing them from being mixed with JPGs in the share options.
This would provide greater clarity and convenience for users, allowing for easier identification of file types.