Free up space on Google Drive and optimize your account with these simple steps. Google offers 15 GB of free storage shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. Upgrading to Google One increases your storage to 100 GB or more, depending on the plan you choose. However, if you'd rather keep the free 15 GB and make the most of it, here are some tips to quickly and efficiently keep your Google Drive clean and organized.
1. Find out how much space you have used
Your Google account storage space is shared between Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. To check how much space you have left and how it's distributed across the three services, visit this link from your computer. It's important to know that once your account reaches its storage limit, you will not be able to send or receive emails.
2. Optimize storage in Google Photos
Google Drive lets you store all kinds of files, including photos, videos, and music, accessible from any device. You can also edit documents with Google's office suite, similar to Microsoft Office. To free up space in Google Photos, go to photos.google.com/settings and select the "Recover storage space" option. This feature compresses high-quality photos and videos to reduce their size without losing too much quality.
3. Delete old and large files
Start by reviewing the oldest files in your Google Drive account. To do this, go to "My Drive" and sort the files by when they were last modified or opened. You might find documents, images, or videos you no longer need. You can also identify the largest files by visiting this link Or by activating list view and sorting the files by size. This will allow you to quickly delete the ones that take up the most space and are no longer relevant.
4. Review your backups and shared files
Sometimes, even if you have few visible files, Drive shows that a large portion of the space is occupied. This can be due to automatic backups that apps or games have saved. To check this, go to your backups and delete the ones you no longer need.
Additionally, review the files that other people have shared with you. Go to the "Shared with me" section in the Drive sidebar menu. Many of these documents may have been shared temporarily and are no longer needed, so it's a good idea to delete them.
Conclusion
Keeping your Google Drive organized and optimized will allow you to make the most of your 15 GB of free storage. With these simple tips, you can efficiently clean up your files and avoid future problems when your storage is full.
Original article by Bárbara Bécares | April 6, 2021 published in: Engadget
