The new storage policies across your Google Account

Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos have helped billions of people securely store and manage their emails, documents, photos, videos and more. Today, people are uploading more content than ever before-in fact, more than 4.3 million GB are added across Gmail, Drive and Photos every day. Google has announced important upcoming storage changes to Google Account. However, these storage policy changes won’t take effect until June 1, 2021. Sources said, speculations are rife that Google may shut the accounts of those users who have been inactive for two years.

From June 1 onwards, any new Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms or Jamboard file will begin counting toward users free 15 GB of allotted storage or any additional storage provided through Google One. Existing files within these products will not count toward storage, unless they’re modified on or after June 1.

If users are inactive in one or more of these services for two years (24 months), Google may delete the content in the product(s) in which they are inactive.

Similarly, if users are over their storage limit for two years, Google may delete your content across Gmail, Drive and Photos.

The company will notify multiple times before they attempt to remove any content so users have ample opportunities to take action. The simplest way to keep an account active is to periodically visit Gmail, Drive or Photos on the web or mobile, while signed in and connected to the internet.

The Inactive Account Manager can help manage specific content and notify a trusted contact if users stop using their Google Account for a certain period of time (between 3-18 months). Note that the new two year inactive policy will apply regardless of Inactive Account Manager settings.

To help manage Google Account storage, anyone can use the free storage manager in the Google One app and on the web, which gives an easy way to see how users are using their storage across Gmail, Drive and Photos. Users can keep the files they want, delete the ones they no longer need and make room for more-all in one place.

If users need more than their free 15 GB of storage, they can upgrade to a larger storage plan with Google One. They can choose from plans starting at 100 GB of space that also include additional member features like access to Google experts, shared family plans and more.