Before Google forces you to pay, here's how to reclaim gigabytes of wasted storage
Android Police 2026-06-23 12:30:11
Context: Google is introducing a new storage policy that starts some new accounts with 5GB of storage instead of the usual 15GB, requiring users to verify a phone number to access the full 15GB. This change affects new accounts in select regions and does not impact existing accounts. Users can either pay for additional storage through Google One or manually clean up their storage to free up space.
Key Facts
- Google's storage policy change starts some new accounts with 5GB of storage instead of 15GB, requiring phone number verification to access the full 15GB, and is currently running in select regions.
- The 15GB of storage is a shared bucket across Gmail, Drive, Photos, WhatsApp backups, and Docs, Sheets, and Slides, and includes all files, emails, and media accumulated since the account was created.
- Users can clean up their storage by using Google's storage management page, which provides a visual breakdown of storage usage and suggests items to remove, such as large Drive files, photos, and emails with large attachments.
- Deleting items from Google Photos requires careful consideration, as it may also remove the item from devices with Backup turned on, and users can turn off Backup on specific devices before deleting items to preserve phone copies.
- Google's storage management tools can take up to 72 hours to register changes after a big cleanup, and users can also use search operators in Gmail to find and delete large emails and attachments.