8 Best Ways to Free Up Storage Space in Gmail

Introduction

In this article, you will learn the 8 best ways to free up storage space in Gmail. Like every other email service provider, Google also allocates free storage for all its users. However, this space is not limitless, and the company has capped it at 15 GB per user ID. Now, you can utilize this space as per your will, but once you cross this limit, you will not be able to access more free storage. Also, lack of storage means that sometimes your Gmail will stop functioning.

Now, if you don’t want to purchase additional storage, then you can free up some space and continue using the free 15 GB. 

Ways to clear Gmail storage

You can clear your Gmail storage by the following methods -

Manage Gmail storage with Google One

1. Open Google One from your computer.
2. Then, click Storage. 
3. Click Free up account storage under the Get your space back section. 
4. Next, the category or service you want to clear up. You will find the category under the Clean up suggested items or Clean up by service. 
5. After that, select the files you want to delete. Furthermore, you can click these files if you want to see them. 
6. Based on the file type, you can filter and sort out the results- If you want to select a category for review, then click To review different files from the top, Click Sort if you want To sort files by file attributes. You will find this option from the top-right side, Select review files in a list or a grid if you want To change your layout.
7. Now you have completed your file selection. So, click Delete from the top right. If you want to delete Photos, then click Move to trash.
8. After that, you have to confirm the action. So, read the consent.
9. To complete the above step, you need to continue it. So, check the box.
10. Finally, delete the selected files by clicking Permanently delete. Click Move to trash if you want to delete the Photos. 

Block spam emails and the senders

If you find any spam emails in your Gmail inbox then block them with this process –

1. Open Gmail from your computer. 
2. Open the message or check the box from the left of the message. 
3. Click Report Spam from the top of the page.

Also, you can block the email addresses of the spam message senders. So, follow these steps – 

1. Open the message which you have got from the spam sender.
2. Then click More from the top right.
3. After that, click Block [sender]. 

Unsubscribe from unwanted emails

When you sign up for a business profile or site, they will send lots of newsletters or promotions frequently. These disrupt to find out the important emails from the inbox. Also, these emails grab unnecessary storage space. So, you can unsubscribe to get rid of them. Here is how you can do it –

1. First, open an email from the sender to whom you want to unsubscribe.
2. Then, click Unsubscribe. You will find this option next to the sender’s name.
3. Again, click Unsubscribe from the pop-up. For some senders, you might need to click Go to website for unsubscribing their emails. 
4. After unsubscribing from the emails you can send them to the spam folder. So, click Move to spam. But this step is optional. 

Note: There is another way to unsubscribe from an email. You just have to hover over the email and click the Unsubscribe option. 

Set up a filter for the emails

By creating filters for your emails, you can categorize your most important and unwanted emails. It helps to organize your Gmail inbox and save your Gmail storage from unwanted emails cluttering. So, learn how to filter out your emails– 

1. Open Gmail and click Show search options from the search box.
2. Then, enter your search criteria. Click Search to check whether your search criteria are working or not. 
3. Next, click Create filter from the bottom of the search window.
4. After that, choose an action that your filter will perform. 
5. Finally, click Create filter. 

Learn more from here. 

Empty the entire trash/ multiple files

1. Go to Google Drive from your computer.
2. Click Trash from the left menu. 
3. Ensure there is no file in the trash that you want to store. 
4. Next, click Empty trash from the top right. 
5. Finally, click Delete forever. 

Note: If you don’t find out the Empty trash option from the top right side, then lick the Down arrow. After that, you will find the Empty trash option. 

Delete an individual file

1. After opening Google Drive, click Trash from the left menu. 
2. Then, click the file you want to delete forever.
3. Finally, click Delete forever from the top. 

Choose the backup quality for the photos and videos in Google Photos

Photos and videos are saved in your Google account with the same resolution you have captured them. But you can change the quality of a photo if it’s larger than 16 MP. For videos, you can change the quality if it’s greater than 1080p. To change the backup quality, you should follow these steps –

1. Go to the Settings page of your Google Photos.
2. Then, select a backup quality. You can check the backup quality and size of a photo or video by clicking Info. Then you will find the backup details under the Details section. 

Reduce the size of photos and videos

1. After opening the Settings page of Google Photos, click Manage storage.
2. Then, click Convert existing photos & videos to Storage saver. You will find this option under the Recover storage section. 

Note: 

• You can recover the storage once per day. 
• Size compression is not permitted for certain photos and videos. You have to store them in their original file size. For example, you can’t change the sizes of portraits taken on an Android device. 

Some common problems with storage space and their solutions

Problem 1: The available storage space for your account can’t be exceeded as per expectation. 

Solutions: 

• If you have changed your storage limit, then it will take up to 24 hours to update the changed requirement. So, you should wait up to 24 hours to avail of the new storage space.
• If you subscribe to a Google One membership, then your current storage plan changes. Google One membership changes your storage limit, and it will not added to your existing storage limit. So, learn about how Google One works with existing storage limits. 

Problem 2: You can’t send or receive emails after upgrading the storage limit. As you know, it will take up to 24 hours to update the new storage limit; within this period, you may face trouble sending or receiving new emails. 

Solutions: 

• So, sign out from your Google account and then sign in again. After that, test your email service by sending an email to yourself. 
• If the above solution doesn’t work, then open an incognito window and log into your Google account. Then, send a test email.
• Also, you can use different browsers, such as Firefox or Microsoft Edge, to access your Google account. Then, try to send an email, too. 

Problem 3: Sometimes, available storage doesn’t increase after deleting the files. It happens because some files don’t affect the storage space. 

Solutions: Learn which types of files take storage space. 

Foresight – the sophisticated automation platform for everyone

Foresight is an automation platform that helps automate tasks related to Google Cloud. Specifically, it automates Google Workspace workflows. As a result, the users and admin get relief from the diligent and repetitive tasks. They can complete their work within the given timeline and focus on the other tasks. So, Foresight builds productivity and boosts the growth of your business.

So, learn about the different types of use cases from Foresight and save your time. You can read the use cases like – Bulk Update Chrome Device Custom Fields, etc. 

Conclusion

Now you can understand how to clear Gmail storage. Also, you have read the 8 best ways to release the storage space from Gmail. You need to clean your storage to preserve the crucial data, files, and folders. Additionally, learn about Foresight and its expertise in Google Workspace workflows. So, try a 14-day free trial of this platform. You can also read more related topics, such as – Buying more Google storage, etc.