Where should you save photos and videos so as not to fill your cell phone storage?

Since Google decided go down to 15 GB the amount of space free to save files in your cloud, on cell phones with an operating system Androidfor many, managing photos became an ordeal. “Account storage is full”is the warning that comes from the company and puts nerves on edge and anxiety to the limit.

The thing is that when 15 GB is reached, not only is the storage of photos and videos limited. Also It may happen that it is no longer possible to send an email from Gmail or edit a new text document. Thus, the entire ecosystem of services provided by Google may be paused until space is freed up.

And for this there are several alternatives: pay a few dollars a month for Google to extend the space to about 100 GB or more, pay a little less for another company’s cloud, move the heaviest files from your cell phone to a computer, or do this last but to an external hard drive.

If the choice is to opt for a rigid one or transfer files to the PC, when removing heavy images, checking photo by photo to see which one to remove from the mobile always ends up being a waste of time. The most practical and orderly thing is move only cell phone videos to a PC or external drive. And the photos, which take up much less space, are on both sides.

Thus, if the videos are moved to the outside of the cell phone about twice a year, there will never be problems with the storage capacity.

What they opt for pay for an online serviceGoogle charges $2 per month for 100 GB. This is the ideal cloud for those who use Android, since since this system is from Google, the photos will be synchronized there automatically.

Microsoft charges much less879 pesos plus taxes per month for 100 GB. But of course with this option you will have to manually synchronize the cell phone photos with the Microsoft cloud.

For iPhone users, Apple to sell 50 GB per month for 1 dollar.

Can you pay a few dollars a month to have peace of mind, to be sure that your photos will never be lost?

“I recommend a mixed strategy. You cannot have all your digital assets in one place and depend on third parties. You can pay but you also have to have it on a hard drive. And it is much more reliable to have a disk in a drawer than those companies that are unpredictable. But you have to be very disciplined, see that the disk works. Because discs have a useful lifespan. I wouldn’t leave anything unattended for less than six months. You have to keep renewing the disks. AND The mechanical disk lasts longer than the solid state disk. In my opinion, a solid disk is not useful for making backups because the information degrades. If you don’t give it power in three years, you forgot it there, the content can be lost,” explains Nicolás Wolovick, Doctor in Computer Science from the National University of Córdoba.

All in all, it seems that the ideal is to have the photos in two or more wineries. The cloud, a disk, inside the disk of a PC. Always taking into account your own budgets and the skills and strength you have to make backups.

But in all this there is a key and sensitive theme that Wolovick adds: “The data is yours and you probably have to go against the appropriation of this data by companies. For example, Apple or Google give you a place in their cloud and this synchronization thing is terrible because the system is made so that you can lose your cell phone and recover the photos on another one. But that’s nonsense. For example, I have a cell phone with 128 GB of storage but synchronization is impossible because I have 15 GB on Google. And it already happened to me that I have lost photos due to that issue, because I deleted photos in the cloud and it deleted them from my cell phone. That seems terrible to me, of unusual gravity. Thus one is more prone to losing data for not understanding what companies force you in a scandalous way to have your cell phone synchronized with its cloud than for any other reason.”

The best disk alternatives to consider:

2TB capacity. It stands out for its silicone casing on the outside, and patented impact sensors with military certification. ToGo Backup Software. It is only 16.2 mm making it easy to transport. $140,000. There are other options, from 1 to 5 TB.

SSD type, it offers read speeds of up to 1,050 MB/s1. The unit includes a USB-C 3 to USB-A cable and an additional USB-A to USB-C adapter. Red Dot 2024 Award for Product Design. Of 1TB, there are versions in red or black. $140,000. There is a 2TB version for $275,000.

Supports USB 3.2 Gen2 high-speed transmission, offering data transfer up to 520 MB/s. Resists impacts and unexpected falls as it has an anti-shock silicone case that provides cushioning. It is fully compatible with games, consoles and operating systems and does not require any type of driver to transfer information. 1TB capacity. $140,000.

HDD technology. Holds files up to 2TB and is shock resistant. USB 3.0 interface. For Windows 7, 8 and 10. Comes with cable. Rotation speed: 5400 rpm $129,000.

HDD technology. 4TB capacity. It is compatible with Windows and Mac and includes a USB connection cable. Dust and shock resistant. Fast transfer with USB 3.0 interface. $201,195.