Delete large files in Google Photos, Drive, and Gmail

byFlorian published on

Most of us use Google cloud storage to store important documents, files, and photos. However, the new photo storage policy has made it much easier to exhaust the limit of 15 GB free. Fortunately, you can free up storage space by selectively deleting large files from your Google cloud storage. If your Google Account storage space is low, here's how to find and delete large files in Google Photos, Drive, and Gmail.

Find and delete large files from Google Photos, Drive, and Gmail

For starters, Google is offering 15 GB of free cloud storage for all accounts. However, that's not much since it counts in all of your Drive files, your backed up photos and videos, and even messages and attachments in Gmail.

Additionally, Google has now ended the free unlimited photo storage policy. So, a person who uses the same Google account to back up photos, send and receive emails, and upload files to Drive can quickly exhaust the 15 GB quota.

Once the free storage space is used up, you will no longer be able to receive emails. To continue, you will either need to purchase more storage space or empty your storage space. Below is how to find and delete large files from Google Photos, Drive and attachments in Gmail.

Step 1 - Use Google Storage Manager to Find Large Files

  1. Open the browser on your computer.
  2. Head to the Google Storage Manager page. Log in with your account if you haven't already.
  3. Now scroll down to Large Items.
  4. Here you will find the large files on your Gmail, Google Photos and Drive.

Step 2- Delete large files from Google Drive

  1. On the same page, click on the Review and release button under the Large files box.
  2. On the next screen, you will see all the large files saved in your Drive.
  3. Select the files you want to delete.
  4. Then press the Remove top right icon. Confirm the prompt.

Step 3- delete large photos and videos from Google Photos

  1. Press the Review and release button under the Large photos and videos box.
  2. Select the photos and videos you want to delete.
  3. Press the Remove at the top right and validate.

The photos you delete will take 60 days to be permanently deleted. To delete them immediately, go to photos.google.com, select Trash can, and delete the files.

If you want to save a photo or video to your computer before deleting it, tap it. Then click on the three dots and press Open in a new window. Once the page loads, open the three-dot menu and press Download. You can also download files using Google Takeout.

Step 4- Remove large attachments from Gmail

  1. Click it Review and release button below Emails with a large attachment box.
  2. You will now see emails with large attachments.
  3. Select the emails you want to delete and press the Remove icon to the right.
  4. Click on Permanently deleted to confirm.

Once deleted, you cannot recover files from Recycle Bin.

Prevent Google storage from filling up quickly

The best way to extend the 15GB limit is to use a separate Google Account for photo backups. You can also use other free backup options like Amazon Photos. The other effective option is to transfer the existing Google Drive files to another account.

Here are step-by-step tips to prevent Google's free 15GB storage from filling up quickly.

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This involved finding and deleting large files in Google Photos, Drive, and Gmail to resolve the low storage issue in your Google account. Hope this helps you free up space for important files without having to pay for storage. Stay tuned for more of these tips and tricks.

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