Hang on! Are you thinking of buying extra space because you are running out of storage on Google Drive? If so, then hear us out first. You can easily clean out your Google Drive, Gmail, as well as Google Photos to make more space without having to spend any money. Google allows a combined 15GB of free storage to all its users. This can be used on all Google services such as Google Drive, Gmail, Photos, and whatnot.
However, when you come close to that limit, Google asks you if you want to purchase more storage. For that, you have to get a subscription to Google One, which is exactly not something everyone prefers. This is why we are going to teach you how you can free up your space on mobile and desktop so you don’t have to pay an extra amount for it.
Keep in mind, although this can be done on mobile phones, we still suggest using the desktop for it since it is easier and more convenient to manage files there. Plus, make sure you are connected to a consistent internet connection to avoid any delay in the process.
If your current provider makes it difficult for you to even load files, let alone perform any function, then we suggest getting a subscription to Xfinity. Its fast and reliable connection allows you to do all the tasks in a matter of a few seconds. You can contact Xfinity customer service for more details regarding its installation, features, and perks.
Now that you know how to go about this process, here is how you can clean up your Google Drive.
Table of Contents
Delete Large Files First
Those of you who want to delete only selected items from your Drive in order to make some extra room can sort each service by file size. After this, you can check at least one or two files you don’t necessarily need and delete them.
The Process of Deleting Files by Size in Google Drive
- First, log in to your Google Drive or Google account.
- After logging in, click on the menu called Storage. This option is given on the left side of your screen.
- As you do it, the screen will show you the page for Storage. This is essentially the drive that contains all your files of varying sizes.
- By clicking on the Storage used, the files get sorted into sizes from largest to smallest.
- Continue to click on files of the largest sizes and delete them. Select the files, then click on the trash bin that comes up on the top of the screen.
- Another method of doing it is by dragging the files to the Trash folder, which is visible on the left side of the screen.
- The work here is not done. The Drive still has those files in the Trash folder.
- To remove them from the folder, click on Trash (on the left side of the screen). Click on Empty Trash, an option given on the top of the screen to the right.
- Now you can click on Delete Forever option to completely remove the file(s) from the Drive’s database.
Empty the Spam Folder on Gmail
People don’t typically pay heed to the spam folders and how much room it takes up on your Google Drive storage. The folder has unnecessary data and keeping those files only takes more space on your storage.
What’s more, there are two extra folders that do not necessarily contain important files called Social and Promotions. Therefore, it is important to erase that data.
The Process of Emptying Spam Folders on Desktop
- Log in to your account.
- Click on the Spam folder, visible on the left side of the screen.
- In case you don’t see it, click on the More option and then it will drop down to show the Spam folder.
- In the Spam folder, click on the option called Delete All Spam Messages Now.
Delete Unnecessary Google Photos
You might have noticed that your WhatsApp data backs up in your Google Photos every day. The backup transfers every image you might have downloaded or may have downloaded automatically to the services. This takes up the total 15 GB of storage you have been given by Google. This also includes videos, which rather take more space than images.
To clear this, you can follow the steps given below.
The Process of Deleting Photos and Videos from Google Photos
- Log in to Google Photos.
- Select the images and videos you want to delete. Click on the gray checkmark icon given in the top-left corner of the file.
- Click on the icon of trash.
- Click on the option called Move to Trash.
- Go to the Trash folder now.
- Click on Empty Trash to remove all the deleted photos and videos from there too.
In Conclusion
It may take intimidating to clear up your Google Drive or Photos but it saves you from spending money on something that you don’t really need. This is why we recommend following the steps we have mentioned in this article so you can get more storage on your Google Drive to keep the data you need.
