Around a fifth (19%) of Brits surveyed say they hold on to old mobile phones so they have access to their old photos and videos. But there are far easier ways to do this.
There’s no need to clutter up your drawers with unused devices like smartphones and tablets, just to hang on to your old photos and videos. Here’s how you can keep hold of your memories, while getting rid of the clutter.
How can I get photos and videos off my old phone?
Cloud computing makes saving your photos and videos a lot easier, and safer, than it might have been in the past.
Thanks to cloud storage services, individuals and businesses alike can copy files from their phones over the internet onto servers – specialised computers managed on your behalf.
Do I have to pay to use cloud storage for my phone’s contents?
Using cloud storage frees up the storage on your devices and helps keep your photos and videos safe, but you may be charged for the benefit.
Most cloud storage services offer free storage up to a certain amount. However, if you need more, you’ll have to pay a monthly or annual fee.
How much cloud storage can I get for free on my phone?
Here’s how much cloud storage* you can get for free on some of the most well-known services (in alphabetical order):
- Dropbox: 2GB
- Google One (shared between Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos): 15GB
- iCloud (shared between all iCloud services, including Drive and Mail): 5GB
- Microsoft OneDrive: 5GB
Tech on standby: over 200 million unused devices are languishing in British homes
Good Things Foundation and Vodafone are encouraging people to clear out their old tech for Get Online Week 2024 (14-20 October) and give it a second life as part of Vodafone’s everyone.connected campaign.
Is cloud storage safe?
Reputable cloud storage providers should have plenty of back-up systems and strict security policies. They should also insist that you connect to their servers using an encrypted web browser or app connection. If in doubt, check the small print and see how widely a particular service is used.
Another possible factor to consider is whether a provider offers zero-knowledge encryption. Similar to the end-to-end encryption used by services such as WhatsApp, this effectively makes it impossible for anyone – including the cloud storage provider itself – to view your data under any circumstances.
How much cloud storage do I need for my photos?
The amount of cloud storage you need depends on three things: the amount of photos you want to store; the format of those files; and the resolution of each item.
Resolution is the number of pixels in a photo or video. Generally speaking, the higher the resolution, the more detailed the photo or video can be. However, in turn, higher resolution images will require more storage.
One high resolution photo taken on a modern smartphone, and saved in JPEG format, generally requires 3-7MB. With 1GB equalling 1,024MB, this means you can roughly store between 150-340 photos for each GB of data available.
Alternatively, a RAW file is much larger and will take up 20-30 MB of storage. These files are generally preferred by keen photographers due to their higher quality and greater editing possibilities.
How much cloud storage do I need for my videos?
Videos are a little more difficult to calculate, as the size of a video file depends on both its resolution and its length. As a broad rule of thumb, the following figures hold true:
- 720p: 1-4GB per hour (p/h)
- 1080p: 4-8GB p/h
- 2K: 8-15GB p/h
- 4K: 15-30GB p/h
Cloud computing: Everything you need to know
These days cloud computing touches most aspects of our digital lives, from the apps we use to Vodafone’s mobile network itself. But what exactly is it?
Which cloud storage service should I choose for my old phone?
Features and price per gigabyte vary. It’s also possible that some services no longer have apps that can run on some older devices.
As a result, it’s recommended to do your own research into which one would best suit your specific needs.
Will my internet connection affect how fast I can copy my photos and videos from my old phone to cloud storage?
Yes, it will. The upload speed of your internet connection, whether it’s home broadband or a 4G or 5G mobile connection, will determine how quickly you can copy your files from an old phone to cloud storage.
Full fibre broadband, for example, has much faster upload speeds than older types of home broadband.
If you’re using home broadband to do this, don’t forget that the versions of WiFi built into both your old phone and your router will also affect the time it takes to copy your photos and videos.
If you’re using your mobile connection to do this, be mindful of any mobile data usage limit that may apply to your plan. If you don’t have a Vodafone Unlimited plan, your Pay Monthly plan may still have the option of using an Unlimited Data Booster.
This gives you unlimited mobile data for 30 days and can be used a set number of times, depending on the length of your plan.
I don’t want to use cloud storage. What alternative options do I have for my old phone?
Another way of safely storing your phone’s photos and videos is to connect your phone to your computer and import them over.
If you have an iPhone, Apple’s instructions can help you get started. If you have an Android device, try following Google’s instructions.
If you have an Android device that has a slot for microSD storage cards (often incorrectly referred to as ‘memory cards’), you can use a file manager app such as Google Files to copy your data from your phone to the microSD card.
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Can I use a USB drive with my old phone?
Yes, you can. You can plug USB thumb drives, hard disks and other such USB storage into your phone, as its charging port can also be used for data transfer.
You may need an adaptor cable to do this, depending on which port your phone has and what type of connector your USB storage device has.
If your iPhone or Android device has a USB-C port, for example, modern storage with USB-C connectors can be plugged straight into it. This includes SD card readers. Storage devices with older types of USB connector – USB-A being the most common – will need an adaptor.
If your iPhone has a Lightning port, an adaptor from Apple can be used to connect USB storage to it. Alternatively, some storage manufacturers sell USB thumb drives equipped with a Lightning connector at one end.
If you’ve been hanging on to an old Android device with a microUSB port, you’ll need a particular type of adaptor called a USB On-The-Go adaptor. These have other uses too.
It’s also worth noting that some portable USB hard disks may need to be plugged into a wall socket for power when used with your phone. While the USB ports on laptop and desktop computers are often capable of powering such portable hard disks unaided, that’s not always the case with the ports on phones.
Once you’ve got your USB storage plugged in to your old phone, bear in mind that you’ll need to use a file manager app for the actual process of copying your photos and videos over. Examples include Google Files, which works with Android 8 and later, or Apple’s Files app, which is included from iOS 11 onward.
Can I use both cloud storage and USB storage to get photos and videos off my old phone?
It’s always a good idea to have multiple copies of your precious files, rather than just one, in case something goes wrong. USB thumb drives (also known as flash drives) can be easily lost, for example. They also tend to have shorter life spans than hard disks or solid-state storage (SSD).
I’ve just bought a new phone. Can I copy my photos and videos straight from my old phone to my new one?
Yes, you can.
What should I do with my old phone once I’ve safely copied all of my old photos and videos?
You can choose to donate it to the Great British Tech Appeal. Doing so could help a disadvantaged person, who would otherwise be living in digital poverty, to get online.
Alternatively, you may be able to trade it in with Vodafone for a discount on a newer device.
* Figures correct as of August 2025.
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