Note: This article is about your Google Account storage. If you use Drive for desktop and your computer shows a different amount of space, learn why your computer's storage differs from your Google storage.
What affects your Google Account storage
What counts towards your storage quota
- Original quality photos and videos backed up to Google Photos.
- High quality (now named Storage saver) and Express quality photos and videos backed up to Google Photos after June 1, 2021. Any photos or videos you've backed up in High quality or Express quality before June 1, 2021 will not count toward your Google Account storage. Learn more about this change.
- Note: Older, inactive photo libraries still occupy active space if they were backed up in Original quality.
- Gmail messages and attachments, which includes your Spam and Trash folders.
- Files in Google Drive, which includes PDFs, images, and videos. Files in shared folders only consume the cloud storage quota of the original file owner, never the recipient.
- Meet call recordings.
- Files created or edited in collaborative content creation apps like Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, Recorder, and Vids.
- Files created or edited after June 1, 2021 count against your quota.
- Files uploaded or last edited before June 1, 2021 don't count against your quota.
- WhatsApp backups on Android.
Frequently asked questions about storage
Why didn't my storage update after I deleted a lot of files?No, but they count against the file owner's storage. However, if you make a copy of a shared file or add your own files into a folder someone shares with you, those new files use your storage.
To make a copy, Click File 
-
Drive for desktop uses small placeholder files on your computer instead of downloading the full files.
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These small files do not show how much space you actually use in the cloud.
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Your total cloud storage also counts items left in your Drive Trash, hidden app data, and background system files.
It can take up to 24 hours for a storage plan upgrade to become active. Try to sign out of your Google Account and sign in again. If it's more than 24 hours, you can contact Google One support for help.
Photos and videos backed up in "Storage Saver" formally "High quality," before June 1, 2021, didn’t count against your storage. So, if you deleted “Storage Saver” photos, it doesn't free up any space from your storage limit.
When you’re over quota, it means you use more storage space than you have available. If you go over your storage quota:
- You can’t upload new files or images to Google Drive.
- You can't back up any photos and videos to Google Photos.
- Your ability to send and receive email in Gmail can be impacted.
- You can’t create new files in collaborative content creation apps like Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, and Vids. Until you reduce your storage usage, nobody can edit or copy your affected files.
- You can’t back up new Recorder files.
- Tip: You can still sign into and access your Google Account.
If you’re over your quota for 2 years or longer: If you don't free up or purchase more space to get back under quota, all of your content in your Google Account may be removed including in Gmail, Google Photos, Google Drive (this includes Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, and Vids) and your Android device's backup.
Before your content is removed, we:
- Give you notice using email or notifications within the Google products. We will contact you at least 3 months before content is eligible for deletion.
- Give you the opportunity to avoid deletion (by paying for additional storage or removing files)
- Give you the opportunity to download your content from our services. Learn how to download your Google data.
How to go back under quota
We provide access to storage management tools that help you identify ways to free up storage space. Another option to free up space is to download your files to your personal device and then delete them from your cloud storage.
If you want more storage space for Gmail, Drive, and Photos, you can upgrade to a larger storage plan with Google One.
Important: The cleanup target only appears if you’re over your storage quota.
You can free up your storage when you delete enough files and data to clear your cleanup target estimate.
- On your device, open Google Drive
, Google Photos
, or Gmail
.
- Tap Clean up space or Manage storage. This will open the Google One storage manager.
- At the top, you can find a banner with the amount of storage you need to clean up to continue with the service.
- To find how much storage you use by service, tap Usage details
.
- Under “Clean up by service,” choose the Google service you want to delete files and data from:
- Google Photos
- Google Drive
- Gmail
- Trash
- Select the items you want to delete.
- You can swipe right to mark an item for deletion or swipe left to keep an item.
- At the top, tap Review.
- Tap Delete
- For Google Photos: Items deleted go to the trash and will be permanently deleted after 60 days.
- For Google Drive and Gmail: Items deleted are permanently deleted and can’t be recovered.
Tip: You can also choose the Google service you want to delete files and data from under "Cleanup suggestions."
Important: The amount of pending backup only counts pending Google Photos content on the mobile device you check the storage from. The pending backup for Google Photos isn’t available on desktop. It doesn’t include any pending backups:
- From other locations, like Drive or WhatsApp.
- On other devices that share the same storage.
You can find your pending backup when you’re over your storage quota. It lets you know the amount of storage that’ll be consumed once your device backups resume. Learn more about how to back up photos and videos.
- On your device, open the Google Photos app
- Tap Manage storage. This will open the Google One storage manager.
- At the top, you can find a banner with the amount of storage you need to clean up to continue with the service. This also shows the size of your pending backup.
- To find how much storage you use by service, tap Usage details
Learn more about Google storage
How these policies apply to Google WorkspaceThe over quota policy doesn’t apply to:
- Google Sites
- Google Keep
- Blogger
- YouTube
The inactivity policy applies to all content in your Google Account and the account itself.
Supervised accounts can access the Google One storage manager. They can navigate to the Google One storage manager page for Photos, Gmail and Drive on the web.
However, supervised child accounts can't purchase Google One memberships.
If your account is subject to this policy change, we’ll give you at least 3 months notice before your content may be deleted.
- We’ll try to reach you through your email address and notifications.
- Manage your Google Account email.
We recognize that many people pass away without leaving clear instructions about how to manage their online accounts. Google can work with immediate family members and representatives (in certain circumstances) to provide content from a deceased user's account. Learn more about our process for requesting a deceased user’s data.
To let us know in advance what to do with your data in the event of death or prolonged inactivity, learn more about Inactive Account Manager.
Tip: The Inactive Account Manager settings don’t override our inactive and over quota policies.