Google Photo’s robust suite of editing features may soon begin shrinking for free users.
XDA Developers reports that Google may soon be planning to lock some of its editing options behind a paywall — namely, paid Google One subscriptions.
A look at the code for the most recent Google Photos update features several strings that indicate this change could very well be coming.
- As a Google One member, you get access to extra editing features.
- Get extra editing features with a Google One membership.
- Unlock this feature and more with a Google One membership.
- Unlock more editing features and {storage_amount} of storage with a Google One membership.
XDA Developers’ Mishaal Rahman also took to Twitter to share a few screenshots sent to them by a reader that appears to confirm these changes. Namely, the Color Pop feature, which is currently free, seems to have been moved behind a Google One subscription requirement. The Verge reports that the Color Pop option isn’t being taken away or locked behind a paywall, however, and is instead giving subscribers a new version.
“In Google Photos, color pop is a feature that continues to be available for anyone to use, at no cost, for photos with depth information (such as portrait mode). As a part of an ongoing roll out that began earlier this year, Google One members can apply the feature to even more photos of people, including those without depth information.”
Google declined to comment further on other editing tools potentially moving behind Google One subscriptions. The search giant has yet to make any official announcement about its plans in this regard.
