SIMPLE & FREE Ways to Get More Google Storage ( Free Up Space in Gmail)

Do you constantly get that annoying red pop-up 🚨 Storage Full 🚨 - You will no longer receive emails by whatever date? If so, keep reading!

If you’re someone who relies heavily on Google services — whether it’s Gmail, Google Drive, or Google Photos — you’ve probably encountered the dreaded "Storage Full" notification. With Google’s free storage limit capped at 15GB, it’s easy to hit the ceiling, especially if you have a lot of photos, emails, and documents stored. Fortunately, there are simple ways to get more Google storage for free and free up space without needing to upgrade to a paid plan.

In this post, we’ll go over some practical strategies to increase your Google storage capacity for free — and how to make the most of the 15GB you already have.

1. Create An Additional Gmail Account for Free 15GB of Storage

One of the easiest ways to get more Google storage for free is to create an additional Gmail account. Each Gmail account comes with a fresh 15GB of storage, which is shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. So, if you’re consistently running out of space, creating a new Gmail account can be a quick and effective workaround, however, it is limited in terms of how many accounts can be created by the same user.

How to Create Extra Gmail Accounts:

1. Sign up for a new Gmail account: Go to Gmail and click on "Create account." Follow the instructions to set up a new Gmail address.

2. Access 15GB of free storage: After setting up the account, you’ll have access to 15GB of free Google storage for emails, documents, and photos.

3. Use it for specific purposes: To keep things organized, use these additional Gmail accounts for different purposes. For example, one could be for work-related documents and emails, another for personal photos, or even for storing large files you don’t need immediate access to.

While this solution won’t permanently solve the problem of storage limits, it’s a great temporary fix that can help you stay organized and avoid the need for a paid plan for several months/years to come.

Tip: If you’re worried about managing multiple accounts, you can link them to one primary account for easier email access and to avoid constant logins and logouts.

2. Free Up Space in Google Drive by Cleaning Up Files

Google Drive is one of the most common areas where users run out of storage. Files that accumulate over time — from work documents to old presentations, receipts, PDFs, and even videos — can quickly eat up your free space.

Here’s how you can clean up Google Drive to free up space and ensure you're using your 15GB wisely:

• Go to Google Drive: Open Google Drive and click on “Storage” in the left sidebar to see what’s taking up the most space.

• Sort by file size: In the storage overview, you can sort your files by size to identify the largest files. If you have large videos or high-resolution images that you no longer need, it’s a good idea to delete them.

• Delete unused files: Look for old documents, files, or folders that are no longer needed. Empty your trash regularly as files in the trash still count toward your storage quota.

• Download and backup files: If you don’t need immediate access to files but want to keep them, consider downloading them to an external hard drive or cloud storage service like Dropbox or OneDrive. Important: Once backed up, delete them from Google Drive to free up space.

3. Free Up Space in Google Photos

Google Photos is a major culprit when it comes to consuming storage space. Photos and videos can quickly add up, especially if you’ve been uploading high-resolution images for years. Fortunately, Google Photos offers a feature that allows you to compress your photos to free up space while keeping your memories safe.

How to Manage Google Photos Storage:

• Use High-Quality (Not Original) Uploads: If you're storing a lot of photos and videos in Google Photos, consider switching to High Quality (now referred to as Storage saver) instead of Original Quality. This setting compresses photos and videos to reduce their file size, meaning you can store more without exceeding the 15GB limit.
  To change your upload setting:

  1. Open Google Photos.

  2. Tap on your profile icon and go to Photos Settings.

  3. Select Backup & Sync.

  4. Under Upload Size, choose Storage saver.

• With this option, your photos will be stored at 16 MP resolution, and videos will be compressed to 1080p, which is sufficient for most users.

• Delete Unnecessary Photos: Go through your Google Photos library and delete photos or videos that you no longer need. Google Photos has tools like Duplicate Finder and Reminders to help you spot blurry, similar, or unwanted images.

• Download & Back Up Elsewhere: If you want to keep the Original Quality photos but are running low on space, consider downloading your photos to an external drive or cloud backup service. Then, delete the originals from Google Photos to free up storage.

4. Remove Large Emails in Gmail

Gmail is often one of the biggest consumers of storage space, especially if you use it for business purposes and receive a lot of attachments. Large attachments such as images, receipts, intake forms, PDFs, and videos can quickly fill up your 15GB.

Here’s how to find and remove large emails from your Gmail account:

• Search for large emails: In the Gmail search bar, type size:10mb to find emails that are over 10MB. You can adjust the number to find even larger emails. Once you identify large emails, you can delete them or move them to an external storage solution if they are important.

• Use the "Has Attachment" filter: Search for emails with attachments by typing has:attachment into the Gmail search bar. From there, you can review which attachments you no longer need.

• Delete old and unimportant emails: Go through your inbox, especially the Sent folder, and look for any old emails that contain large attachments. Delete emails that are no longer relevant or important.

• Empty Gmail Trash and Spam: Don’t forget that deleted emails still occupy space until you empty the trash. Regularly clear out your Gmail trash and spam folders to ensure that they aren’t taking up storage.

5. Use Third-Party Cloud Services

If you find that you’re constantly running out of Google storage, it might be time to consider using other free cloud services to offload some of your data. Several free cloud storage services provide generous space that can complement Google’s offerings:

• Dropbox: Offers 2GB of free space on sign-up!

• OneDrive: Free 5GB of storage space!

These services can help you free up space on your Google account while still keeping your files accessible.

6. Last But Not Least: Buy a Flash Drive

Consider investing in an external drive such as a Terabyte flash drive that you can connect by USB to your computer. You can purchase one from an online retailer or shop like Best Buy in the US. (Note: this is not a sponsored post, I’m just sharing this option, as it’s what I’ve done for myself as a business owner who uses lots of online storage.)

Using this method, you can then transfer files from your Google Drive, Photos or Large Email Attachments onto the external drive, saving you from having to organize. The flash drives range in cost depending on how many Gigabytes you want. I paid about 80 bucks for 1 Terabyte which is 1000 Gigabytes. (This should last me a lifetime in theory.) However, you can purchase a flash drive with just 10 Gigabytes of storage for 8 bucks if you’d prefer. In the long run, this method saves you from putting yourself at the mercy of a paid monthly subscription.

Those monthly recurring fees lock you in with the tiny price of just 2 dollars a month but this basically makes you a prisoner to using that storage service for the rest of your life, as the mountain of files grows and grows.

And that’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed today’s post and got some valuable information that you can start using in your business or daily life right away.