How to free up space on your Google account

Google offers 15 GB of storage at no charge to your account. This portion includes everything in Gmail, Drive, and Google Photos. Regarding the latter, it should be made clear that all multimedia content saved in “high quality” does not take up a share of the space. But after this date, regardless of the quality in which it is stored (low, high, or original), it will consume a portion of the available storage quota (except in the case of Pixel phones, where this feature will continue to be enjoyed).

In this sense, optimizing the content saved in the account is vital. Here are some tips to remove unnecessary content and make sure there are no unnecessary files taking up potentially valuable space to store other things.

You should bear in mind that the files in the “Shared with me” section and shared drives; They only occupy space on the owner’s Google Drive. Google Jamboard files, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, and graphics created before June 1, 2021 and not modified after this date, will take up space. Also, backups of photos and videos saved in HD or explicit quality prior to June 1, 2021, do not require a storage fee.

1. Delete heavy and unnecessary files in Drive

To do this, it is necessary to log into your account from a computer and view your files arranged from largest size to smallest. Then choose the files that you don’t need, so that they go to the Recycle Bin, where you can then enter them to delete them permanently. Within 24 hours, the space taken up by the files you removed will appear as available in your Drive account.

2. Remove the heaviest emails from Gmail: How to filter them

Inside Gmail, enter the search box (next to the magnifying glass icon) and type Has: elbow, largest: 10 m. This will filter emails with attachments larger than 10 million. You can replace 10 with a larger number if you want to delete larger files.

Check all the emails you want to delete and tap the trash can icon to delete this content. Then in the left margin, press Menu then Trash to delete it permanently.

It is also convenient to remove emails from spam folder. You go into this section and select ‘Delete permanently’. This will help save space well.

3. Compress content into Google images

Until June 1st, your saved “high quality” photos and videos will not take up space in your Google Account. After that date, all multimedia content, regardless of the quality in which it is stored, will be consumed in the cloud.

So you still have one day to store your photos and videos in high quality so that they don’t take up space. To do this, you must log in from a computer to photos.google.com/settings. Click on the option that says “Recover Storage”. This will compress the multimedia content in high quality format so that it does not take up space. You won’t have this option after June 1. The only ones who will continue to take advantage of these benefits are Pixel mobile users.

To delete photos and videos to the trash, you have to select them and in the upper right-hand margin, hit the delete icon.

4. Manage Gmail, Photos, and Drive files simultaneously

To remove one or more files that are taking up space in Photos, Gmail, or Drive, you can use Google One Storage Manager. So you must enter Here. There you will see the content filtered by size as well as the items that have already been discarded in the trash and can be permanently deleted.

What if I ran out of space

You will not be able to send or receive emails in Gmail. Also, you will not be able to sync or upload new files to Drive. You also won’t be able to create new files in Google Jamboard, Docs, Sheets, Presentations, Drawings, or Forms. Conversely, syncing between your computer’s Google Drive folder and My Drive will stop. Pictures or videos cannot be uploaded.

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