Google Changes Its Storage Policy: Old Or Inactive Accounts May Be Deleted!

Published 2020-12-11

Over the past decade, Google & its services have helped billions of individuals to securely store and manage their files, emails, photos, videos and other digital data. According to a recent blogpost, “Users are uploading more content than ever before. More than 4.3 Million GB data are added across its services – Google Drive, Photos, Gmail and more, every day.”

Observing the growing demand and to provide users with seamless storage & management experience, the company is making important changes in its Storage Policy (2021-2023). The revised policy will impact services like Google Photos, Google Email, and Drive (including Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, Drawing, Forms, and Jamboard etc.).

What Are The New Important Changes For Google Account Storage?

The new policy states that if users stay inactive on Gmail, Drive or Google Photos app for 2 years or more, the data stored within, may be deleted permanently. Even if your account is inactive because of ‘over-limit storage’, the company will start deleting the files across all the services: Drive, Photos & Gmail.

The company has also announced that if the user’s storage has exceeded the quota for two years & users are not purchasing more storage, all content may be deleted. However, before deleting, Google will notify users with at least 3 months’ notice, so that users can purchase additional storage space.

Based on Google’s existing storage policy, users will still have 15 GB of free space (shared across Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms & more). However, Google will stop offering a high-quality photo storage option for the Photos app as of June 1, 2021.

If you own Pixel 1-5, photos and videos uploaded from the device won’t be impacted. All the photos/videos uploaded in high-quality will continue to be exempt from June 1, 2021.

Considering the new amendments, over “80% of users will still be able to store a few more years’ worth of memories with 15 GB of free storage.” Google will start sending notifications when storage will be getting closed.

To understand the new storage changes, you can see the personalized estimate for how long your storage space may last. (The estimate will be shown, based on how frequently you backup your data.) To check yours, click here!

Users will be offered new tools with Google Photos app to manage and backup photos and videos easily. Using the new feature, you can analyze and review which memories are important to keep and other photos/videos which you can delete. (Such as blurry, dark and large files.)

The company is offering subscription services starting at $1.77 for 100 GB cloud storage per month.

The revised policy will kick-in from June 1, 2021. Hence, users have a significant amount of time to take advantage of unlimited free storage plan and backup their important data timely.

Google says, “The earliest anyone will find their data deleted is June 21, 2023. So, users have three years to comply.” They will regularly send you nag emails to remind you that your account and data might get deleted.

Additionally, the company has made changes in the retention policies for items that are in Trash as well. With the new policy, any file stored in Google Drive Trash will automatically be deleted after 30 days.

What You Need To Do?

The most convenient way to keep all your Google accounts active is to access them regularly. The company will keep sending notifications before their data or account gets deleted permanently. Hence, users have a significant amount of time to take the necessary actions to protect their data and Google account.

Must-Read: How To Download Your Google Data: Using Google Takeout?

I Am Not Sure If I Can Stay Active Once Every 2 Years, What Should I Do?

If you don’t have a reliable Internet connection or you think you might not be able to access the Google accounts periodically, you can use Inactive Account Manager. The platform will help you manage your data and even help you to notify a trusted contact if your Google account has been inactive for 3 to 18 months.

Additionally, you can download your data and back it up at any time!

So, Why Google Is Making These Changes?

It would not be a big surprise to know that Google is revising its storage policy, considering the fact that it has now over 1 Billion users for each of its services. So, providing free storage for each product may not be a feasible choice. Google’s new move will likely push users who were on the edge of making payments for its cloud storage solution and those who have become highly dependent on Google Photos for storing and managing their photo and video collection.

Google is all set to offer paid options for getting extra storage with its Google One service.

How To Manage Your Storage?

To help users manage their Google account and entire storage, they are offered to use the dedicated storage manager – Google One, through app or web browser.

What Is Google One?

Google One is a subscription model that offers more storage space to use across Google services like Drive, Gmail & Photos app. You can enjoy multiple benefits with Google One:

It offers a Full Quality backup plan. (Beneficial for professionals who would like to retain photos & videos in the best quality possible without any compromise.)

Offers 24*7 support for its customers through: Messages, Phone Calls and Emails.

Has member benefits on Hotel Bookings, discounts for Renting Movies on Google Play Movies.

Google One users will be offered Google Play Credits periodically, which can be used to purchase apps, books and movies on Google Play Store.
Gives an opportunity to share your Drive Storage with up to five members of your family or friends. They can enjoy the same benefits too!

Google One Cloud Storage Pricing Models	Storage Available
$1.99/Month	100 GB
$2.99/Month	200 GB
$9.99/Month	2 TB
$99.99/Month	10 TB
$199.99/Month	20 TB
$299.99/Month	30 TB

I Don’t Want To Pay & I Have Lots Of Photos On Google. Does It Mean I Have To Delete All My Previously Stored Data?

As we have already mentioned, all the data stored before June 1, 2021, will continue to be a part of the free storage plan. So, if you have somehow managed to upload more than 15 GB of storage space to your Google account till date, don’t panic! You don’t have to delete them!

But all the data uploaded after June 21, 2021, will be counted against your free storage plan, and if you want to continue using the service by uploading more data, you need to upgrade by purchasing a plan for Gmail, Drive and Photos app.

Does The New Storage Policy Is Applicable For G-Suite Accounts?

No, the revised policy is not applicable for G-Suite or Workspace accounts.

WRITER’S TIP: The new update serves as a reminder that even companies like Google can make changes in their policies & break the promise of free storage forever. That’s why users should not always depend on just one cloud storage solution to hold their data forever.

Right Backup by Systweak Software is a clever option that can help you manage your precious data without putting much effort. It offers affordable packages and makes accessing your photos, videos, documents and other multimedia files a hassle-free process. Just login with your Right Backup credentials and get your files using any device, anytime.

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