2022
Hi Moderators,
Please check this, I have got unlimited free storage for High quality. My 100 gb local guide perk got expired, But still why google photos occupying 35.9 gb when it is free unlimited storage ? Can something be done, like renewing the perk. 🙂
Accepted Solutions
Hi @VijethS, you must have had a setting with original size applied before. This filled up some 35 Gb of your storage. If you switch now to "high quality", it will not reduce the size of your previously uploaded photos but only of those uploaded from now on.
You will need to reduce the size of your already uploaded photos, too, by going to this page (you may need to log in again) and pressing the "Recover storage" button (highlighted in yellow in the below screenshot). It will take a while until Googles servers compress your images (and resize them to max. 16 Mp if they are larger) but eventually you will gain a lot of storage back.
@Gaieus) 
Hi @VijethS, you must have had a setting with original size applied before. This filled up some 35 Gb of your storage. If you switch now to "high quality", it will not reduce the size of your previously uploaded photos but only of those uploaded from now on.
You will need to reduce the size of your already uploaded photos, too, by going to this page (you may need to log in again) and pressing the "Recover storage" button (highlighted in yellow in the below screenshot). It will take a while until Googles servers compress your images (and resize them to max. 16 Mp if they are larger) but eventually you will gain a lot of storage back.
Hello @VijethS please follow these instructions by @Csaba Previously I faced the same issue & solved using the method mentioned here. Hope you get your answer 🙂
@Csaba wrote:
Hi @VijethS, you must have had a setting with original size applied before. This filled up some 35 Gb of your storage. If you switch now to "high quality", it will not reduce the size of your previously uploaded photos but only of those uploaded from now on.
You will need to reduce the size of your already uploaded photos, too, by going to this page (you may need to log in again) and pressing the "Recover storage" button (highlighted in yellow in the below screenshot). It will take a while until Googles servers compress your images (and resize them to max. 16 Mp if they are larger) but eventually you will gain a lot of storage back.