Before Google forces you to pay, here’s how to reclaim gigabytes of wasted storage
Before Google forces you to pay, here’s how to reclaim gigabytes of wasted storage
https://www.androidpolice.com/free-up-google-storage/
Publish Date: 2026-06-23 08:30:00
Source Domain: www.androidpolice.com
Google is trying out a new signup flow that starts some new accounts at 5GB instead of the usual 15GB. To get the rest, you have to hand over a phone number and verify it.
The experiment is running in select regions, and Google’s support page has already softened its wording from a flat 15GB to “up to 15 GB.”
If you already have an account, none of this touches you, so this isn’t a panic story. Consider it a reminder.
That 15GB you’ve had forever is one shared bucket split across Gmail, Drive, and Photos, WhatsApp backups (on Android phones), and, since June 2021, your Docs, Sheets, and Slides count against it.
Newsletters, blurry photos, a PDF receipt from 2019, it all draws from the same well. You can pay your way out with Google One. Or you can spend half an hour cleaning the house.
Use a computer for this cleanup. Google’s storage manager, Drive filters, Gmail searches, and Photos quota tools are easier to review on a big screen.
Also, be careful with Google Photos. It’s a synced library, so deleting a backed-up photo can remove it from devices with Backup turned on.
To keep phone copies while clearing cloud storage, turn off Backup on that device first, delete from photos.google.com, and double-check before emptying Trash.
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