When it comes to finding a cloud storage solution, there are several services out there for you to choose from. However, lately, Google One is increasingly becoming popular among people. One of the reasons for its increasing popularity is that it gets you a unified storage space for all the various Google services, which makes accessing and managing storage and data a lot easier. If you’re looking for a cloud storage service and have heard about Google One but wish to know more about it before subscribing, here’s everything you need to know about Google’s cloud storage service.
What Is Google One?
Google One is a subscription service that offers expanded cloud storage to help you get more out of different Google services. It’s essentially a rebranded version of Google Drive’s paid storage service that existed before 2018, with a few extra features and benefits. Google One storage plans start at 100GB and go all the way up to 30TB. It comes in handy when you’ve used up the 15GB of free storage that comes with your Google account and want more space to store your files, documents, photos, or videos. Google One’s storage space is shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos, and you can also share it with your family members.
How Much Does Google One Cost?
Google offers several plans to cater to the needs of different users. So based on what you intend to use the storage for, you can pick a plan accordingly. Here are all the Google One plans and how much they cost in the US, UK, and India:
100GB: US ($1.99 per month, $19.99 per year) | UK (£1.59 per month, £15.59 per year) | India (₹130 per month, ₹1300 per year) 200GB: US ($2.99 per month, $29.99 per year | UK (£2.49 per month, £24.99 per year) | India (₹210 per month, ₹210 per year) 2TB: US ($9.99 per month, $99.99 per year) | UK (£7.99 per month, £79.99 per year) | India (₹650 per month, ₹6500 per year)
In addition to these three plans, Google also offers a few add-on plans. These plans are available in 5GB, 10TB, 20TB, and 30TB storage options. However, you can’t buy them directly from the Google One website or app. You can only get these plans as an upgrade when you’ve filled up the storage on one of the three plans you’ve subscribed to previously.
What All Benefits Does a Google One Subscription Offer?
Storage is a key aspect of a Google One subscription. However, as we mentioned earlier, the subscription also gets you several benefits that make a strong case for the storage service.
Shared Storage
Google lets you add up to five members to your Google One subscription, so you can share the storage space with them. Each member’s storage space is private, and they have access to only their allocated storage space and its content. Besides storage space, sharing your membership also gives other members access to Google’s VPN service (more on this below).
Access to Google Experts
Google Experts are Google’s trained support staff to help Google One members. When you subscribe to one of the service’s plans, you get 24/7 access to experts, who you can reach out to when you’re facing an issue with your subscription or want to know more about any of its features or benefits.
Seamless Phone Backup
Switching between Android phones is often a challenging task. However, if you’re a Google One subscriber, this becomes a lot easier. With a Google One subscription, you can automatically back up all your data (photos, videos, documents, files, messages, etc.) from your old device using the app. After which, you can easily restore it on your new Android device with a few simple clicks to move over your data without losing it.
Free VPN Protection
A VPN service protects your online privacy, helps in reducing tracking, and comes in handy when you need to bypass geo-restricted content. Google understands this and offers free access to its VPN service with each of its Google One plans. Called VPN by Google One, the service is available in select countries as of now, though the number is growing steadily. It’s pretty easy to set up and use, and you can activate it across your Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac devices, as required.
Dark Web Monitoring
Just like VPN, another security-focused feature Google One offers is dark web monitoring. It’s a feature that alerts you when your personal information is exposed to the dark web and guides you on how to protect your data, such as credit cards, passwords, etc. Dark web monitoring is currently available in the US only.
Google Photos Editing Features
A major highlight of a Google One subscription is access to several Google Photos editing features, many of which are otherwise limited to Google Pixel users. Among these, the Magic Erase feature is quite a useful one. It makes it super easy to remove photobombers or other distractions from your photos with just a few simple taps. Other useful editing features too include:
Portrait Blur: It allows you to turn a photo into a portrait by blurring out the background after you capture it. Portrait Light: It helps make images look better by adjusting the light position and brightness post-capture. HDR: It helps balance the brightness and contrast in photos and videos. Color Pop: It keeps the subject of a photo in color and turns everything else black and white. Sky Suggestions: It lets you fix the color and contrast of the sky to make it more vibrant.
What Other Offers/Perks Do Google One Subscribers Get?
Besides the benefits mentioned above, your Google One subscription also offers you a few perks. Some of these perks are plan and region-specific, and you can find the ones available with your plan in your country from the Benefits section on the website or mobile app. Also, keep in mind that these perks change from time to time. As of writing this, you get the following perks with a Google One subscription:
Google Play Credit
Google gives you a free $5 credit when you subscribe to a Google One plan. This credit can be redeemed on your next purchase of an app, game, or move on Google Play.
Google Store Credit
If you’re a Google One user living in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, or Australia, and you subscribe to one of the below plans, you’re eligible for Google Store rewards (in the form of credit):
200GB plan: 3% back in Google Store credit 2TB, 5TB, 10TB, 20TB, or 30TB plans: 10% back in Google Store credit
Extended Trials and Offers
Google rewards Google One subscribers in select countries with offers and extended trials on some of the Google products and services. Since these are region-specific, you can find them in the Benefits section on the Google One app or website.
3 Months of YouTube Premium Plan
Last but not least, Google also provides 3 months of YouTube Premium when you subscribe to a Google One plan. YouTube Premium gives you an ad-free experience, with access to a few additional perks like offline access, background play, picture-in-picture view, YouTube Music Premium, and more.
How to Sign Up for Google One
Google lets you sign up for a Google One subscription in two ways. You can either do this from the Google One website or download the Google One app on your smartphone and subscribe to a plan on it. A Google account is all you need to use Google One storage. Considering you’re reading this, you probably already have one. If not, you can create a Google account here. Follow the steps below to sign up for Google One: Once you’ve subscribed to Google One, your Google account will reflect the total storage space you currently have. If you wish to subscribe from its mobile app, first download it from the link below. Download Google One: Android | iOS Next, sign in with your Google account and hit the Upgrade button. From the Membership plans page, hit the Get Offer button on the plan you want to subscribe to and finish the payment to complete the purchase. Your Google One subscription should now be active.
Google One Is More Than Just a Storage Solution
Google One is Google’s answer to cloud storage services. But as you’ve seen above, its subscription is more than just a storage service, and there are several other benefits you get to enjoy as a subscriber, which makes it a more appealing service compared to other cloud storage services. So if you frequently back up your Android phone or need to store a lot of files, documents, or other media (photos, videos, etc.) across different Google services on your account, getting a Google One subscription can help you get more out of those services, and in turn, make your life easier. Similarly, if you have a Google Workspace account, you also get 1TB of free Google Drive storage. Earlier, this was limited to 15GB only, but Google increased it last year in an effort to help users grow their businesses.
