Storage Hacks: Tips to Expand Your Google Drive Space for Free

Google Drive HACKS: How to Get More                              Space for Free

Google Drive is a promise for most of us to store documents, photos and files in one place. But with a mere 15GB of free storage (shared among your Gmail, Google Photos, and Google Drive), you won't be long before you hit that limit. If upgrading to a paid plan isn’t what you want to do, that’s also okay there are tons of things you can do to maximize your free space. Here are a few quick, easy to perform tricks to increase Google Drive space free of charge.


1. Audit Your Storage

First, you need to learn how your storage is being used. To get a more detailed breakdown of what’s taking up space in Gmail, Google Photos and Drive, go to Google One Storage. This summary can help you determine which areas to focus on  cleaning up emails or decluttering files.

2. Cleaning Unecessary Files in Google Drive

Unfortunately, Google Drive can end up being a digital landfill for useless or just old files. Here’s the best way to clean up:

  • Sort your files by size to locate and delete large files you haven't touched in years.
  • Filter by file type using the search bar (ex: . mp4, . pdf) and remove duplicates.
  • Don’t neglect the “Shared with me” area — while these files don’t factor into your storage, getting rid of unwanted ones helps declutter.

3. Clear Out Gmail

Your Gmail inbox counts toward your Google Drive storage, so it’s worth cleaning up:

  • Use search filters such as larger:10M to locate and remove emails with big attachments.
  • Delete messages from Spam and Trash folders as well, since they also consume space.
  • Skip out on news letters and marketing emails to avoid future trash.

4. How to Manage Google Photos Storage

Photos and videos are majorspace hogs. To free up space:

  • Change your photos to “Storage Saver” quality in Google Photos. It cuts image size down significantly while still keeping somewhat decent quality.
  • Use storage management tool in Google Photos to delete blurry or duplicate photos.
  • Upload photos to another cloud service or transfer them to an external drive, then remove them from Google Photos.

5. Delete Google Drive Trash

Files you’ve added to the trash still take up space until you permanently delete them. Click “Empty Trash” to reclaim that space in an instant from your Drive Trash folder.

6. Google Docs, Sheets and Slides

If you create native Google files such as Docs, Sheets and Slides, did you know they don’t count against your storage? Where possible, make files using Google’s apps, rather than uploading Word documents or Excel sheets. You can even get an existing file into Google formats to free up space.

7. Connect Multiple Google Accounts

If you have multiple Google accounts, use them wisely. For example, use one account to share large files with another account, or create shared folders that distribute storage across accounts. This allows you to save space without depending on a single account.

8. Utilize External Tools

Apps such as “Duplicate File Finder” or “Unclouded” can scan your Google Drive for duplicate or unnecessary files, allowing for easier decluttering. Just make sure these are trusted and secure apps before you allow access.

9. Optimize Shared Files

If you use Google Drive all the time with others, ask them to host large shared files or delete unneeded ones. Have only the necessary files in your Drive.

10. Use Google Workspace Offers

Google does occasionally run free storage promotion for certain actions users take, like going over security settings. Watch for these opportunities to build out your storage cost-free.

Final Thoughts

Free Google drive storage optimization is all about regular maintenance as well as smart file management. Using these hacks, you’ll be organized and optimize your 15GB allocation. Keep in mind, the important part of this is the consistency set a reminder to get into your storage every few months so that you can keep your system working for you.

Do you have your own storage-saving tips? Tell us in the comments below!

Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post