Google Photos

Binghamton University will disable the Google Photos Service for Binghamton University Google Workspace accounts on October 24, 2024 . Google Photos is not included in Google Workspace for Education but the storage consumed in the Photos app is counted towards the pooled storage limit for Binghamton University. This reduces the available Google storage for everyone at Binghamton to use in Email, Drive and Shared Drives. 

Removing the Google Photos service will contribute to ensuring that Binghamton University Google Accounts do not exceed the storage limit set by Google. Storage limits for Google Workspace for Education were announced in 2021 and set by Google for all universities in January 2023. Individual storage limits were set for Binghamton University accounts in May 2024. Since introducing storage limits, Information Technology Services (ITS) has found in some cases that people do not realize that their phone is automatically backing up their photos and using up all of their available storage.

The removal of the Google Photos service does not impact photos that are stored in Binghamton University Google Drive or Google Shared Drives. Personal photos should not be stored using any Binghamton University resource.

In order to prepare for the removal of the Google Photos service, take the following steps:

1. Turn off the automatic Sync to your Binghamton University Google Account if it is enabled on your phone:

Android

• Open the Google Photos App

• Sign into your Binghamton University Google Account

• At the top right tap your Profile picture or initial

• Tap Photos settings – Backup

• Slide the Backup toggle switch to the left to turn off

iPhone

• Open the Google Photos App

• Sign into your Binghamton University Google Account

• At the top right tap your Profile picture or initial

• Tap the Google Photos settings – Backup

• Slide the Backup toggle switch to the left to turn off

2. Make sure your photos are backed up so you can access them when you no longer have access to the Binghamton University Google Photos service. You can download your photos using Google Takeout by following these instructions. If you are interested in options for sharing then saving photos to a personal Gmail account, review this article for Partner Sharing instructions

Once you have safely downloaded your photos, delete them from the Google Photos App in your Binghamton University account using a web browser on a computer. 

1. Visit photos.google.com/search/_tra_ (this shows your photos in "date added" order, and is more responsive than the Google Photos homepage).

2. Click the checkmark on the first image.

3. Scroll down. You may find it faster to use the “End” key on your keyboard (fn + right arrow, on most compact keyboards). Repeat until you reach the end of the page, or earlier if you'd like to delete in batches.

4. Hold the Shift key, and the images leading up to the mouse should highlight in blue.* Click to select the batch.

5. Click the trash can icon at the top-right of the screen.

6. Empty the trash.

*Note: Make sure you're using the page linked in step 1 rather than the homepage

If  you take no action before October 24, 2024, you will see sync errors on your mobile device if you have not turned off the backup. You will also no longer be able to view photos that had been uploaded previously but they will continue to consume your individual storage limit.

If your photos are consuming excessive storage in the Binghamton University Google Workspace domain, you may be contacted by ITS about further action to remove the photos from your account. 

If you would like assistance, please feel free to contact the Binghamton University ITS Help Desk at 607-777-6420 or Submit a Request, and we'll be happy to help.