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“Account storage is full”: fixing Google’s 15GB limit

Every free Google account has 15GB, shared between Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos. When it is full, you stop receiving new emails, photos stop backing up, and you cannot save to Drive. The warning is easy to ignore until an important email bounces.

See what is using it

Go to one.google.com/storage (or open the Google One or Google Drive app, then Storage). You will see how much each of Gmail, Drive and Photos is using, and a Clean up space tool that finds large items for you.

Gmail: large and old attachments

In the Gmail search box, type:

  • has:attachment larger:10M to find emails with attachments over 10MB. Delete what you do not need.
  • older_than:2y has:attachment for old attachments.
  • Go to the Promotions and Social tabs, select all, and delete. They add up to thousands of emails.

Then open Bin (Trash) and Spam and choose Empty now. Deleted mail keeps using space for 30 days otherwise.

Google Photos: videos and duplicates

Videos use most of the space. In Google Photos, go to Collections or search for Videos, and delete or download long ones you do not need online. Also check Screenshots. Deleted photos go to the Bin for 60 days; empty it to get the space back straight away.

Google Drive: big files and the bin

In Drive, open Storage (in the menu) to list files largest first. Delete what you do not need, then empty the Bin. Files other people shared with you do not count against your storage; only what you own does.

WhatsApp backups

On Android, WhatsApp chat backups are stored in your Google account and count toward your storage. In WhatsApp, Settings, Chats, Chat backup: turn off Include videos to make the backup much smaller.

Or pay for more

Google One plans add storage for a monthly fee, paid through Google Play. Clearing space first is free and often enough.

Keep it from filling up again

  • Set Google Photos to back up in Storage saver quality instead of Original.
  • Shrink scans and PDFs before emailing them. The photo resizer and PDF compressor here work on your phone.
  • Unsubscribe from newsletters you never read.

Tools that help with this

Free, and they work inside your browser without uploading anything.