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0 pointsnybble415y ago0 comments

> The honest approach would be to either grandfather existing customers at the promised price point ($0)…

This is exactly what they're doing. According to the announcement, photos uploaded in "high quality" (the previous free/unmetered tier) before June 1, 2021 will remain exempt from the storage quota. Only new photos uploaded after June 1, 2021 count against the quota. So not only are all the existing photos and videos grandfathered in, you even have seven whole months after the change was announced to upload new material which will also be grandfathered in.

Google is also very good about data migration; you can download all your photos and videos along with a wealth of other account data in reasonably open formats via Google Takeout and migrate it wherever you wish.

0 comments

hinkley5y ago

That is not 'exactly' what they're doing. It's loosely what they're doing.

Being grandfathered into a service means you get to keep using it the way you did, full stop.

This service is about uploading and downloading files. All they're preserving is the ability to download them, not upload.

csallen5y ago

Expecting them to not only exempt you from paying for your previously uploaded photos, but to also allow you to continue to upload photos for free indefinitely seems unreasonable to me. That's not what I'd expect from being grandfathered in.

dontfiremepls5y ago

We are going to lawyer this, aren't we? The service was promised for free, not per photo storage. The expectation is that the service will continue to be free. From what you're saying, (most of) the future use of the service, which consists of uploading and storing new photos, will be charged.

Velvet gloves dumping.

andromeduck5y ago

So if someone gives you a free beer for a the foreseeable future they also owe you free beer for life?

What kind of entitlement is this?!

usrusr5y ago

What if he only stops giving you free beer after all other breweries have closed shop?

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rmah5y ago

There is a certain segment of the population that believes exactly that. And they tend to get offended when you point out that it's unreasonable.

Dylan168075y ago

It's not entitlement to say that, if it would end like this, they never should have been giving away such vast amounts of free beer in the first place.

That's asking for less free stuff in the interest of preserving healthy competition in the long term.

levosmetalo5y ago

If you have an agreement with someone to give you a free beer for life, in exchange for your personal data, they should be allowed to back up? After already extracting all value for your data?

What kind of entitlement is this?

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TheCoelacanth5y ago

If they are trying to drive competitors out of business to form an illegal monopoly, then yes.

nomad5435y ago

If someone gives people free beer while driving out competitors or preventing potential competitors form starting a business, then it's dumping. No company should be entitled to decimate competition using dirty strategies.

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nybble41OP5y ago

> The service was promised for free…

Please point out exactly where Google, or any of their competitors, ever promised that any of their free services would remain available—much less free—forever. Anyone who expected that was kidding themselves, especially given the history of high-profile services being shut down or significantly redesigned on a regular basis.

dredmorbius5y ago

Launch announcement:

They’re pitching it as having “unlimited storage”....

Yep! We were right. Google Photos will launch today, for free.

https://techcrunch.com/2015/05/28/confirmed-google-will-laun...

HN discussion at the time: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9618965

Highlight comment:

Right now, I have more faith in a specialist small company (e.g. Smugmug [disclaimer, no affiliation]) which charges for their product than Google who offer it for free ... and then, not ... and then ... repackaged ... and then ... RIP.

-- XJOKOLAT https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9619340

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j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

hinkley5y ago

That is not 'exactly' what they're doing. It's loosely what they're doing.

Being grandfathered into a service means you get to keep using it the way you did, full stop.

This service is about uploading and downloading files. All they're preserving is the ability to download them, not upload.

csallen5y ago

dontfiremepls5y ago

Velvet gloves dumping.

andromeduck5y ago

So if someone gives you a free beer for a the foreseeable future they also owe you free beer for life?

What kind of entitlement is this?!

usrusr5y ago

What if he only stops giving you free beer after all other breweries have closed shop?

1 more reply

rmah5y ago

There is a certain segment of the population that believes exactly that. And they tend to get offended when you point out that it's unreasonable.

Dylan168075y ago

It's not entitlement to say that, if it would end like this, they never should have been giving away such vast amounts of free beer in the first place.

That's asking for less free stuff in the interest of preserving healthy competition in the long term.

levosmetalo5y ago

If you have an agreement with someone to give you a free beer for life, in exchange for your personal data, they should be allowed to back up? After already extracting all value for your data?

What kind of entitlement is this?

1 more reply

TheCoelacanth5y ago

If they are trying to drive competitors out of business to form an illegal monopoly, then yes.

nomad5435y ago

1 more reply

nybble41OP5y ago

> The service was promised for free…

dredmorbius5y ago

Launch announcement:

They’re pitching it as having “unlimited storage”....

Yep! We were right. Google Photos will launch today, for free.

https://techcrunch.com/2015/05/28/confirmed-google-will-laun...

HN discussion at the time: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9618965

Highlight comment:

-- XJOKOLAT https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9619340

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse