GeneinChi Loc: Chicago, IL

I should know this but I don’t as my understanding of how a “cloud” works is bit lacking.
I have pictures saved in Google Photos and Amazon cloud as well as other places on my IPad, IPhone and computer. Yeah…I know. I want to just have one place for photos, that being Google Photos via Google 1. If I delete the photos everywhere but Google Photos, will they still remain on Google Photos? I want to free up space and not lose everything.
Thanks in advance
Gene

Warhorse Loc: SE Michigan

Storing your pictures in multiple locations is a good thing.

NCMtnMan Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC

The cloud is nothing but huge arrays of servers with mammoth storage that each of these cloud companies setup. It isn't one big thing with a bunch of different names. I use a company called iDrive for my cloud backup. I get multiple terabytes of storage for a few dollars a month. I have my photos backed up, but also any other data files that I want to protect. The backup is set to run at a specified time or times per day to backup any new files or any that have changed from the previous backup. The initial backup takes a while to perform depending on your Internet upload speed, but only a short while to do the subsequent backups each day. If you have a large amount if files in your initial backup they will send you a portable hard drive to copy them to that you then send back to them. They will then copy those files into your account to get you started. If you just want to keep doing what you have been doing, then getting rid of all but one cloud account should not affect things. If you're still concerned, then get a large external drive to copy the files from the cloud before eliminating any of them as a precaution.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Your photos in Google Photos will stay where they are. Cloud storage services aren’t tied together. Some folks recommend that you have a Cloud storage service plus backups on two external drives, one in your home and one is another safe location. Me, I keep my backups on two external drives in my home. That’s it.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

If you keep them in Google Photos, they will stay in Google Photos. Of course, if there is a major hacking, or Google decides to shut it down, Bye! Bye! Google is ending its cloud storage to concentrate on Google Photos, so that should be active for a long time.

I use Google Photos for sharing, not for storage. Digital clouds, like clouds in the sky, aren't permanent, so maintain your own multiple backups.

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

Your photos will only be deleted ever you delete them.

When you use your computer and a browser, everything you read is stored on a computer somewhere (cloud). The larger companies, like Amazon, have lists of servers (accessable computers) scattered around. This is done to store their data in more than one place for redundancy.

For backup purposes, you should have at least three. One local, another physical drive stored away from your house, and one in the cloud.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

And when we’re gone very few will have any interest in those thousands of photos we’ve been religiously saving.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Correct!

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Maybe or maybe not, but while you’re alive, you presumably do, or why take a digital image or have a digital camera in the first place if the data is useless?

uhaas2009

Apple iCloud backup is normal everything on the phone including pics what can’t do is pick single photos or single others stuff from the iCloud. This why (5gb) iCloud is enough. And every new update deletes the old update.
If you safe the originals in iCloud you will need way more cloud storage and Apple will ask you to buy more storage or tells you the iCloud storage is full.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

The cloud protects you from a major catastrophe such as fire or weather events like tornadoes, hurricanes, or floods where your home is in tatters. Unless the drive in the remote location is updated as you add to your local drive (which can be done with backup software) you aren't protected.

dwmoar Loc: Oregon, Willamette Valley

When I am gone, I won't care either.....

phot0n0ob

As others have pointed out, whatever you do w/other storage locations does not affect your photos in Google Photos, so - in theory - you can store all your photos in Google Photos only and get rid of all the rest. Having said that, a word of caution:
- it is never a good idea to store everything in just one place! While Google will not go broke any time soon, there are a number of reasons why you could become (temporarily or permanently) lose access to your Google Photos (you may want to google "Google locked me out of my account" for reference; your internet service may be down at the worst possible time; your account could be hacked; ...). I suggest storing your photos in at least two places, which can be any mixture of cloud and local storage
- do you shoot JPG or raw? Do you post process your photos? Google Photos very likely only stores the final JPG (or PNG), but not the raw file or unprocessed photo as it came out of the camera. If you do not want to lose those, you will have to devise a backup strategy that includes those files, too

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

Google does store only jpegs. Amazon is cheap with other benefits and does raw also.

Back up routine should include more than two. It should include a cloud service (one that duplicates the hard drive like Carbonite), one local and one of site. You need two for of site, one of site and one local to exchange with the off-site at say ever two three days, Unless you have access to an offshore drive by Internet.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

There is no cloud, its just some else's computer.