How your Google storage works (2024)

If you're ever locked out of your Google Account, recovery options can help you get back in. Learn more about account recovery for Google One members.

What counts towards your storage quota

• Original quality photos and videos backed up to Google Photos.
• High quality (now named Storage saver) and Express quality photos and videos backed up to Google Photos after June 1, 2021. Any photos or videos you've backed up in High quality or Express quality before June 1, 2021 will not count toward your Google Account storage. Learn more about this change.
• Gmail messages and attachments, which includes your Spam and Trash folders.
• Files in Google Drive, which includes PDFs, images, and videos.
• Meet call recordings.
• Files created or edited in collaborative content creation apps like Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, Recorder, Vids, and Jamboard.
  • Files created or edited after June 1, 2021 count against your quota.
  • Files uploaded or last edited before June 1, 2021 don't count against your quota.

Tip: WhatsApp backups on Android will soon count toward your Google Account storage. Learn more about WhatsApp backup.

What happens when you're over quota

When you’re over quota, it means you use more storage space than you have available. If you go over your storage quota:

• You can’t upload new files or images to Google Drive.
• You can't back up any photos and videos to Google Photos.
• Your ability to send and receive email in Gmail can be impacted.
• You can’t create new files in collaborative content creation apps like Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, Vids, and Jamboard. Until you reduce your storage usage, nobody can edit or copy your affected files.
• You can’t back up new Recorder files.
• Note: You can still sign into and access your Google Account.

If you’re over your quota for 2 years or longer: If you don't free up or purchase more space to get back under quota, all of your content may be removed from Gmail, Google Photos, and Google Drive (this includes Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, Vids, and Jamboard files).

Before your content is removed, we:

• Give you noticeusing email and notificationswithin the Google products. We will contact you at least three months before content is eligible for deletion.
• Give you the opportunity to avoid deletion (by paying for additional storage or removing files)
• Give you the opportunity to download your content from our services. Learn more about how to download your Google data.

How to go back under quota

We provide access to storage management tools that help you identify ways to free up storage space. Another option to free up space is to download your files to your personal device and then delete them from your cloud storage.

If you want more storage space for Gmail, Drive, and Photos, you can upgrade to a larger storage plan with Google One.

The over quota policy doesn’t apply to:

• Google Sites
• Google Keep
• Blogger
• YouTube

The inactivity policy applies to all content in your Google Account and the account itself.

If your account is subject to this policy change, we’ll give you at least 3 months notice before your content may be deleted.

• We’ll try to reach you through your email address and notifications.
• Manage your Google Account email.

We recognize that many people pass away without leaving clear instructions about how to manage their online accounts. Google can work with immediate family members and representatives (in certain circ*mstances) to provide content from a deceased user's account. Learn more about our process for requesting a deceased user’s data.

To let us know in advance what to do with your data in the event of death or prolonged inactivity, learn more about Inactive Account Manager.

Tip: The Inactive Account Manager settings don’t override our inactive and over quota policies.