this post was submitted on 15 May 2026
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182
The era of 15GB free Gmail storage is ending (Update: Google responds) (www.androidauthority.com)
submitted 1 day ago by Itwasntme223@discuss.online to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] kernelle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 90 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (4 children)

5GB is plenty for emails, won't be an issue for 99% of people.

THE problem with google's storage is that they actively mislead consumers:

  1. They bother customers during setup and after with: "Do you want to backup your device?" To which a considerable amount of people react to as "Yeah ofcourse I want that!"
  2. Google does not show any indication where this backup goes or about the eventual payment so people just forget about it.
  3. After some time their gmail and photos app will start to complain: "YOUR STORAGE IS FULL" - with constant notifications. And their Gmail stops working so they can't receive emails anymore.
  4. These regular people confuse 'storage' with internal storage so they start looking for ways to expand their internal storage, which obviously doesn't do anything.
  5. Eventually they give up and either pay google the ransom or make a new email.

This is the real dark pattern behind their "free cloud"

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 2 points 4 hours ago

oh yea they hide thier back up location very well, you have to go digging in your google drive and click on the backup/cloud option to see where it went.

[–] SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 4 points 8 hours ago

Yes, backing up your photos is the killer.

[–] mechoman444@lemmy.world 20 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

It is interesting. I've deleted almost all my emails from my Gmail account and it just won't go bellow 50% full. There is no way to see what is taking up the space.

My mother on the other hand has 3000+ emails and it's at like 15% full. They absolutely do this on purpose.

[–] Kite@sh.itjust.works 8 points 9 hours ago

Did you ever use Google Photos to store your pics? That is what has my Gmail/google storage at 99% full, even though it's been over a decade since I used it and I disconnected it from all my accounts.. except apparently not. You can go through the steps to disconnect, it looks like it works, but it doesn't. I currently have an iPhone, and if I try to delete all the photos in Google Photos, it will still sync with my phone and also delete the same photos on my phone. No matter what I do, I can't severe that connection. And so I'm stuck at 99%

[–] kernelle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Are you sure you're not using anything else google related that might clog it up? That's what I'm getting at. Check google one for a breakdown.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 5 points 6 hours ago

likely backing up to your google cloud with photos, files, essays,,,,etc.

[–] PalmTreeIsBestTree@lemmy.world 9 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

It is honestly. My Gmail is 16 years old and I’ve only used a third of a gig.

[–] kernelle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 12 hours ago

and if you need more you're probably using a dedicated mail client anyway