How To Avoid Gmail Storage Full

If your Gmail storage is getting full, it can be frustrating, especially if you rely on Gmail for personal or work communication. Fortunately, there are several ways to avoid running out of space and keep your Gmail account running smoothly. Gmail’s free storage is 15 GB shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos, so it’s important to manage it effectively.

Here’s how to avoid Gmail storage full:

✅ 1. Check Your Storage Usage

First, check how much space you’re using by visiting Google’s storage page: Google Storage.
- This will show you how much space is used in Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos.

✅ 2. Delete Large Emails

Your inbox may have emails with large attachments that are taking up significant space.

Steps to find and delete large emails:

Open Gmail and search for large emails using the search operator size:10MB or larger:10M.
- This will show emails with attachments over 10 MB, which may be taking up a lot of space.
Consider deleting emails with large attachments that you no longer need.

✅ 3. Delete Unnecessary Emails

Regularly delete unnecessary or old emails that you no longer need, including:
- Spam and trash (check the spam and trash folders as well, as these can still take up space).
- Newsletters and marketing emails that aren’t important to you.
- Promotions and social notifications that aren’t critical.

You can search for specific types of emails like:

category:promotions
category:social
is:unread
older_than:1y (older than one year)

✅ 4. Use Google Drive Wisely

Google Drive also uses your shared 15 GB of storage. If you have a lot of files stored there, consider deleting old or unimportant files.

Tips for managing Google Drive storage:

Search for large files in Google Drive using the search bar (click the “Storage” option on the left sidebar in Drive to sort files by size).
Consider moving files you don’t need immediate access to into a backup service or external storage.
Empty the trash in Google Drive, as deleted files stay there for 30 days before being permanently removed.

✅ 5. Review Google Photos

If you upload photos and videos to Google Photos, they can take up a large portion of your storage.

Steps to manage Google Photos storage:

Check your Google Photos settings: If you upload photos in “High Quality”, they no longer count toward your storage. However, Original Quality uploads do use your storage.
- To change settings: Go to Google Photos → Settings → Backup & Sync → Photo Quality → Select High Quality (this will save space).
Consider deleting photos or videos you no longer need or downloading them to an external storage device.

✅ 6. Empty the Trash and Spam Folders Regularly

Emails in your Trash and Spam folders still count against your storage.
- Go to both folders and delete everything to free up space.
- Empty the trash and spam folders regularly.

✅ 7. Use Gmail’s “Storage Management” Tool

Gmail has a built-in storage management tool that can help you clean up your account.
- Go to Google’s storage page: Google Storage → Manage Storage.
- This tool will show a detailed overview of how much space is used in Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos, and offer suggestions for what to delete.

✅ 8. Upgrade Your Storage

If you find that you consistently need more space, consider upgrading to Google One for additional storage. This service offers 100 GB, 200 GB, or even 2 TB plans, which provide extra storage across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos.
- You can upgrade directly from your Google account settings if needed.

Summary: How to Avoid Gmail Storage Full

✅ DO This	🚫 AVOID This
Regularly delete old or unimportant emails	Let unnecessary emails build up over time
Clear large attachments and manage inbox size	Keep large files or emails you don’t need
Manage and delete files in Google Drive	Store files in Google Drive without reviewing storage space
Change Google Photos settings to “High Quality”	Upload photos in original quality unnecessarily
Empty the trash and spam folders regularly	Let trash and spam sit for too long
Consider upgrading to Google One for extra space	Keep running out of space and be unprepared