system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: how does Google profit from things such as free unlimited photo storage?
gpt
The main product that Google is selling is me and you. Their business is all about learning as much as they can about you and then selling that to advertisers. We are the product they monetize through ad sales. The same can be said for Facebook, probably to a larger degree. So your photos tell an awful lot about you. Where you have been, what you are doing, your lifestyle, you interests, even who you are with. Google is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in Artificial Intelligence software that can accurately and quickly scan photos to determine their content. Also photos contain a lot of information that can say precisely where the photo was take, what time, which camera you used etc. All of this can be used to help sell more targeted advertising. Ever wonder how Google makes those really clever automatic Slide shows by grouping photos together? So the more photos Google has from you, the more it knows you and the more valuable as a product you become to Google.