Important: From 13 October 2020, Google Drive bin is going to change. After files have been in your bin for 30 consecutive days, Google Drive will begin to delete them. Learn more.
To delete your Google Drive files, move them to the bin. You can restore files from your bin before the 30-day time window. You can also permanently delete them to empty your bin. If you delete, restore or permanently delete multiple files or folders at once, it may take some time for you to notice the changes.
Your storage is shared across Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos.
To see how much space you have left, on a computer, go to google.com/settings/storage .
Important: When your account reaches its storage limit, you can’t send or receive emails.
Clear space
Clear space in Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos to make room for new items.
- Use a computer to see your files listed from largest to smallest.
- Put files you don't want in your Bin, then permanently delete them.
Tip: Within 24 hours, deleted items will show in the available space in your Google Drive account.
Gmail
Permanently delete large emails
-
In the Search box, type
has:attachment larger:10M. -
Click Search
.
Note: Replace '10' with a higher number to delete larger files. - Select the emails you don't need, then click Delete
.
- On the left side of the page, click Menu
Trash.
- At the top, click Empty Bin now.
. 
.
Trash.Permanently delete emails in Spam
- On the left, click Spam. If you can't see Spam, click More.
- At the top, click Delete all spam messages now. Or, select specific emails, then click Delete forever.
For other ways to search for emails, learn about Gmail search operators.
Store photos & videos as 'High quality'
Change your photos and videos from original quality to high quality, which doesn't take up storage space. High quality photos backed up after 1 June 2021 will begin counting towards your Google Account storage. This includes photos backed up in their original quality and then compressed to high quality after 1 June 2021.
- On a computer, go to photos.google.com/settings.
- Click Recover storage. This won't change the quality of your future uploads.
Move photos & videos to the Bin
- On your computer, go to photos.google.com.
- Point to an item you want to move to the Bin.
- At the top left, click Select
.
- At the top right, click Delete
Move to Bin.
.
Move to Bin.Delete files you don't need
To delete single or multiple files that take up storage, use the Google One Storage Manager. If you delete a file by mistake, learn how to recover a deleted file.
What uses your storage space
Items that take up space- Google Drive:
- Most files in your 'My Drive', including PDFs, images and videos.
- Items in your bin. Learn how to empty your bin.
- Starting 1 June 2021, any newly created Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms or Jamboard files will count toward storage. Existing files will not count toward storage, unless they're modified on or after 1 June.
- Gmail: Messages and attachments, such as items in your Spam and Bin folders
- Google Photos:
- Photos and videos stored in 'Original quality.'
- Photos and videos uploaded in 'High quality' or 'Express quality' will begin to take up space on 1 June 2021. Older files uploaded before that date won't take up storage space. Learn more about Photos backup options.
- If you go over your storage quota or don't log into your account for 2 years or longer, these 'High quality' photos are deleted. Learn how to keep your Google Account active and under quota.
Remove hidden data from apps in Google Drive
- On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
- Click Settings
Settings.
- On the left, click Manage apps.
- If there's hidden data, you can find the amount under the app's description.
- To delete this data, click Options
Settings.Google Drive:
- Files in ‘Shared with me’ and shared drives. These files only take up space in the owner's Google Drive.
- Google Sites.
- Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Jamboard and Drawings files that you create before 1 June 2021 and don't edit after that date.
Google Photos: Photos and videos backed up in high quality or express quality before 1 June 2021.
Items in Google Drive for your computer take up a different amount of space than the same items at drive.google.com.
- Items in your Bin take up space in Google Drive, but aren't synced to your computer.
- Shared items will take up space on your computer, but not in Google Drive.
- Items that are in multiple folders will be synced to all folders on your computer, taking up more space.
- If you only sync some folders to your computer, the storage on your computer will be less than what is shown on Google Drive.
- Your computer may show a slightly different file size than drive.google.com due to Mac or PC requirements.
- Gmail: You won't be able to send or receive messages. Messages sent to you will be returned to the sender.
- From 1 June 2021: If you remain inactive or go over your storage quota for two years or longer, all of your emails may be deleted.
- Google Drive: You won't be able to sync or upload new files. You won't be able to create new files in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms and Jamboard. Until you reduce your storage usage, neither you nor anyone else can edit or copy your affected files. Syncs between your computer's Google Drive folder and My Drive will stop.
- From 1 June 2021: If you remain inactive or go over your storage quota for two years or longer, your content within the affected product(s) may be deleted.
- Google Photos: You won't be able to upload photos and videos in their original quality. If you want to add any more photos and videos, you can either upload or back up in high quality (lower resolution), or turn off back up & sync.
- From 1 June 2021: You also won't be able to upload photos and videos in high quality or express quality if you are out of storage. And if you remain inactive or go over your storage quota for two years or longer, all of your photos and videos may be deleted.
