To help manage PLNU’s Google Workspace storage and reduce institutional risk, PLNU ITS will be disabling the Google Photos service for all PLNU accounts.
💡 Your PLNU Google storage is shared across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. All three count toward the same storage limit. For more information, see
this article.
Why We Are Making This Change
PLNU is the latest of many universities and colleges to disable Google Photos. While Google Photos works well for personal photo backup and sharing, it creates challenges in an institutional environment:
- Storage limits: Google Workspace storage is capped for colleges and universities. Google Photos is consuming a significant portion of PLNU’s shared storage, often with personal, non-work files. PLNU’s Google storage is intended to support university work and learning.
- Administrative limits: Google Photos includes sharing and external interaction features, but it provides limited administrative visibility and management. This means ITS cannot reliably audit, manage, investigate, or remove Photos content on behalf of users, including in response to legal or regulatory requirements.
Timeline (Two Key Dates)
| Date |
What Happens |
Who Is Impacted |
| April 20, 2026 |
Google Photos will be disabled for accounts without detected Google Photos storage usage on their PLNU account. |
Users without detected Google Photos storage usage |
| October 26, 2026 |
Google Photos will be disabled for everyone. |
All PLNU Google account holders |
📌 In June 2021, Google changed Google Photos so that Photos items count toward total storage used by Google accounts. Because of that change, ITS can identify who has used Google Photos storage since June 2021. ITS does not have reliable visibility into Google Photos usage prior to that time.
What You Need to Do
The steps below help you confirm whether you have Google Photos content tied to your PLNU account, export anything you want to keep, and remove Photos content if needed.
⚠️ Items in Trash in Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos still count toward storage until they are permanently deleted.
✅ If ITS identified Google Photos storage usage on your account, you will receive additional communication with more details and next steps.
Step 1: Check Google Photos and your storage breakdown
A. Check whether your PLNU account has anything in Google Photos
- Go to https://photos.google.com.
- Confirm you are signed in with your PLNU account.
- Look for photos, videos, albums, or shared items you want to keep.
B. Check whether Google Photos is using your storage
- Go to https://drive.google.com/drive/quota.
- Review the storage gauge and the breakdown for Gmail, Drive, and Google Photos.
📌 Even if Google Photos shows 0 usage, you may still have Photos content tied to your account from before June 2021. If you see anything you want to keep, export it before your deadline.
Step 2: Export photos and videos you want to keep using Google Takeout
Use Google Takeout to export Google Photos content you do not already have another copy of, and that you would like to keep.
- Go to https://takeout.google.com and sign in with your PLNU account.
- Select Deselect all, then select Google Photos.
- Select All photo albums included if you want to export only specific albums.
- Continue through the prompts and start the export.
- Download the export when it is ready and save it to a safe location.
⚠️ ITS will be unable to help download, move, sort, delete, or otherwise manage your Google Photos library.
💡 Exporting with Takeout does not remove anything from your account. You must still delete Google Photos content if you need to reclaim storage.
Step 3: Turn off Google Photos backup on all devices using your PLNU account
Turn off backup so new photos do not continue uploading to your PLNU account.
iPhone and iPad (iOS)
- Open the Google Photos app.
- Tap your profile picture or initials.
- Tap Photos settings.
- Tap Backup.
- Turn Backup off.
Android
- Open the Google Photos app.
- Tap your profile picture or initials.
- Tap Photos settings.
- Tap Backup.
- Turn Backup off.
📌 If you plan to keep using Google Photos personally, switch your device backup to a personal Google account after turning off backup for your PLNU account. ITS cannot assist in enabling sync to personal accounts or troubleshooting issues with Google Photos on personal accounts.
Step 4: Delete Google Photos content and empty Trash
⚠️ Make sure backup is turned off on all devices before deleting anything. If backup is still on, deleting content from Google Photos can also remove it from devices that are backing up to the same account.
- Go to https://photos.google.com and sign in with your PLNU account.
- Select photos and videos to remove, then click the trash icon.
- Open Trash in the left menu.
- Choose Empty trash, then confirm.
💡 If you only need to remove a portion, start with large videos and large batches of photos first.
Step 5: Confirm Google Photos storage is reduced
- Return to https://drive.google.com/drive/quota.
- Confirm Google Photos usage is reduced after deletion and Trash is emptied.
- If usage does not update right away, check again later.
⚠️ If you do not complete these steps by October 26, 2026, you will lose the ability to access Google Photos to manage the content. Photos storage will still continue to count against your Google storage limit until it is removed. Reclaiming that space may require an additional request to ITS.
📌 You do not need to report back to ITS unless you are asked to do so.
FAQs
What will change when Google Photos is disabled
When Google Photos is disabled, you will no longer be able to access Google Photos using your PLNU account.
If you want to keep any Google Photos content, export it before your deadline.
How will I know if ITS identified Google Photos storage usage on my account
If ITS identified Google Photos storage usage on your PLNU account, you will receive additional communication with next steps.
You can also check anytime using the storage breakdown at https://drive.google.com/drive/quota. This will show you the same information that ITS is able to see.
Can ITS help me move or organize my photos
ITS can assist with turning off device backup for your PLNU account.
ITS cannot help download, move, sort, delete, or otherwise manage a personal Google Photos library.
I deleted photos and emptied Trash, but my storage did not change
Storage updates can take time to reflect. Confirm you emptied Google Photos Trash.
Then check again later at https://drive.google.com/drive/quota. If it still does not update, contact the PLNU Solutions Center.
Can I keep using Google Photos
Google Photos is being disabled only for PLNU accounts. You can use a personal Google account for personal photo backups and sharing.
If you move personal photos off your PLNU account, confirm your devices are set to back up to your personal account instead.
Need Help?
If you have questions about what is using your storage, contact the PLNU Solutions Center.