Clean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android (2024)

You can clear storage space in your account through Google One.

Use the Storage Manager

Clean up storage through Google One

  1. On your Android device, open the Google One app Clean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android (1).
  2. At the bottom, tap Storage Clean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android (2) Free up account storage.
  3. Select the category you want to manage.
  4. Select the files you want to remove.
    • To sort files, at the top, tap Filter Clean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android (3). You can’t sort some categories.
    • To preview files before you delete them, tap on the photos, videos, and certain emails.
  5. After you select your files, at the top, tap Delete Clean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android (4).

Free up storage space

Issues with your storage space

Family members use too much shared storage

By default, family members can use any amount of the available storage. If a member uses too much storage, ask them to clear some of their storage.

If you don't want to share your storage with your family, learn how to stop sharing Google One.

Storage space doesn’t increase after upgrade

It may take up to 24 hours for your new storage to become available after you purchase a new storage plan.

If your storage is still incorrect after 24 hours, sign into your Google Account to check if your payment went through.

If your payment went through, it’s been 24 hours since you upgraded, and your storage is still incorrect, try the troubleshooting steps below.

If a charge is applied to your payment card, but you don’t find a payment reflected on your Google Account, check if you’re signed into multiple Google Accounts. If so, Google One may be purchased on a different account. You can cancel the purchase on that account and repurchase Google One on the desired account. Learn how to cancel purchases on Google One.

Troubleshoot incorrect storage 24 hours after purchase

Tip: If you use an iPhone or iPad, try to close the Google One app, and then reopen it. To learn how to close an app on an iPhone or iPad, contact Apple Support.

Log into your Google Account in private

If you use Google Chrome, try to log into your account using an incognito window. This can force the synchronization of your account with Google servers.

Important: Most browsers have embedded features to navigate in private or incognito. If you’re not using Chrome and you require specific instructions for your browser, refer to the browser provider’s website.

Restart your phone

Important: Settings can vary by phone. For more info, contact your device manufacturer.

  1. On most phones, press your phone's Powerbutton for about 30 seconds or until your phone restarts.
  2. You may need to tapRestartClean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android (5)Restart.

Update the app (Android only)

  1. Open the Google Play Store app Clean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android (6).
  2. At the top right, tap the profile icon.
  3. Tap Manage apps & devices.
  4. Under "Updates available," choose to update all apps or a specific app.

Available storage doesn't go up as much as expected

Tip: If you change your storage limit, it can take up to 24 hours for the changes to apply to your account.

A Google One membership replaces your current storage plan. The storage from your Google One membership becomes your new storage limit and isn't added on top of your existing storage.

If you got storage as part of a promotion, you keep the extra storage.

Learn more about how Google One works with existing storage.

Available storage doesn't increase after you delete files

Some files don't count against your storage space. Different products and files are stored differently and have varying file sizes.

Learn more about what files take up space.

You can’t send or receive emails after the upgrade

If you change your storage limit, it can take up to 24 hours for the changes to apply to your account. In these 24 hours, messages you send or receive through Gmail can be affected. Try these troubleshooting steps:

  1. Sign out of your Google Account, then sign back in.
  2. Send a test email to yourself.
  3. If that doesn’t work:
    • Open an incognito window and log into your Gmail account. Then, try to send an email.
    • Use a different browser like Microsoft Edge or Firefox to open your Google Account. Try to send an email.

If you still can’t send messages, wait 24 hours and try again.

Learn what happens if you run out of space

All your files stay safe, but you can’t store anything new. For example:

  • Gmail: You can’t send or receive messages. Messages sent to you are returned to the sender.
  • Google Drive:
    • You can’t sync or upload new files.
    • Syncs stop between your computer's Google Drive folder and My Drive.
    • You can’t create new files in:
      • Google Docs
      • Sheets
      • Slides
      • Drawings
      • Forms
      • Jamboard
    • Until you reduce the amount of storage you use, no one can edit or copy your files.
  • Google Photos: You can’t back up any photos or videos. If you want to add more photos and videos, you can clean up Google storage space or buy more Google storage.

Clean up storage space

Learn how to manage space on Google Drive.

Manage subscriptions not purchased on the App Store

If you use the Google One website or another device to sign up for a plan instead of the App Store:

  • You can't change your Google One plan on your iPhone or iPad.

Tip: If you purchased via the Google One website, you can manage your plan on the web at Google One.

  1. At the top right, select Settings Clean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android (7) Clean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android (8) Change membership plan.
  2. Choose your new storage limit. You can choose a monthly or yearly subscription.

If you have Google One on an Android device, you can change your membership plan in Settings.

If you want to manage your membership with the app on iPhone or iPad, you must buy a plan with an Apple subscription.

Step 1: Cancel your Google One plan

On your computer:

  1. Go to Google One.
  2. At the top right, select Settings Clean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android (9) Clean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android (10) Cancel membership.
  3. Select Cancel.

Step 2: Buy a Google One plan with an Apple subscription

On your iPhone or iPad:

  1. Download the Google One app from the App store.
  2. Open the Google One app Clean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android (11).
  3. On the left, tap Menu Clean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android (12) Clean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android (13) Membership plans.
  4. Select a Google One plan.
  5. After you pick your plan, in the App Store, confirm your new subscription.

Tip: You can also manage your payment method or manage your subscriptions with Google Play.

Problems with Workspace accounts

If you use a Workspace account, your Workspace admin controls your quota. You can manage files individually in Gmail, Photos, and Drive. Learn how to manage files in your Google Drive storage.

Manage WhatsApp backups

On Android, WhatsApp backups now count toward your Google Account storage.

To review and delete your WhatsApp backup:

  1. Open the Google One app Clean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android (14).
  2. At the bottom, tap Storage Clean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android (15) Free up account storage.
  3. Under “Clean up other items,” tap WhatsApp.
  4. Under the backup you’d like to delete, tap Delete backup.

You can also delete your WhatsApp backup from your browser:

  1. Go to one.google.com/backup/management/whatsapp.
  2. Next to the backup you’d like to delete, click Delete backup.

Tip: If you delete your backup, it doesn’t turn off future backups. Learn how to manage your backup settings.

Learn how to manage your Google One storage with a step-by-step guide.

Related resources

  • Learn how existing storage works with Google One
  • Learn how to buy more Google storage
Clean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android (2024)

FAQs

Clean up & troubleshoot your Google storage - Android? ›

Resolution. Once you have deleted your data from Google, they will be sent to your Trash. Data in Trash will be automatically deleted after 30 days. However, data in Trash still count against your storage limit, so you should empty your Trash after deleting it.

How do I clear Google storage on my Android phone? ›

Clean up storage through Google One
  1. On your Android device, open the Google One app .
  2. At the bottom, tap Storage. Free up account storage.
  3. Select the category you want to manage.
  4. Select the files you want to remove. To sort files, at the top, tap Filter . ...
  5. After you select your files, at the top, tap Delete .

Why is Google storage still full after deleting? ›

Resolution. Once you have deleted your data from Google, they will be sent to your Trash. Data in Trash will be automatically deleted after 30 days. However, data in Trash still count against your storage limit, so you should empty your Trash after deleting it.

Why is my phone saying my Google storage is full? ›

In conclusion, when you receive the “Gmail Full Storage” error message, it means that you've reached your storage limit, and you need to free up space by deleting old emails and attachments or purchasing additional storage from Google.

Why does Google keep saying my storage is full when it's not? ›

Deleted items still occupying space: Even if you have deleted emails, they may still be taking up space in your account's trash or spam folders. These folders often have their own storage limits, and if they are nearing capacity, it could trigger a warning message.

Why is Google taking up so much storage Android? ›

Lot of it is cache and search history. Go to Settings > Apps > Google > Storage > Clear cache. Then click on manage storage and clear search data ( note search history in Google Chrome will be eliminated).

What should I delete when Android storage is full? ›

Here's how to clear unwanted files and get extra storage space
  1. Uninstall apps you don't need. This is the first thing you should look at when looking to free up storage space on an Android device. ...
  2. Use the File Clean feature. ...
  3. Delete photos and videos. ...
  4. Get more storage. ...
  5. Delete your downloads.
Aug 30, 2023

How to solve Google storage problem? ›

To create more storage space, delete unnecessary files in each app and then empty the Trash in Drive and Gmail, as items in the Trash in these apps count toward your storage. Also remove any hidden data from apps in Google Drive: On your computer, go to drive.google.com. Click Settings Settings.

Does deleting emails free up Google storage? ›

This action permanently deletes your emails and frees up their storage space. If you delete many emails at once, it can take some time for the space to be freed up.

How do I clear my Google storage full? ›

To delete your Google Drive, Gmail, or Google Photos files and make space available, move them to the trash and then empty your trash. If you delete, restore, or permanently delete multiple files or folders at once, it might take time for the changes to take effect.

How do I clear my phone storage without deleting everything? ›

Clear the cache of your Android phone: You can clear cached data from a single app by going to Settings > Apps and tapping on the individual app. In the app info, tap Storage > Clear cache. Some Android phones have the option of clearing cached data from all apps; go to Settings > Storage and tap Cached data.

What is the fastest way to clean up Gmail storage? ›

Free up space with Gmail. With the Google One Storage Management Tool, you can review and free up storage space by deleting emails in your trash, spam emails, or emails with large attachments. info Features are subject to availability. The steps may look different depending on your device.

What happens when your storage is full on Android? ›

This can lead to slower performance, especially when you're trying to open apps or load websites. Your phone may run out of storage space. When your phone's storage is full, you won't be able to download new apps, take new photos or videos, or save new files. Your phone may not be able to update its software.

How to delete photos from Google Photos without deleting from phone? ›

Go to the Google Photos webpage from your Android phone, and delete your photos and videos from Google Photos. 5. Wait for a moment to make it complete, and restart the Google Photos app to delete from Google Photos but not device on Android.

How do I clear Google storage quickly? ›

To delete your Google Drive, Gmail, or Google Photos files and make space available, move them to the trash and then empty your trash. If you delete, restore, or permanently delete multiple files or folders at once, it might take time for the changes to take effect.

How do I free up space in my Google storage? ›

Manage storage through Google One
  1. On your computer, go to Google One.
  2. Click Storage.
  3. Under "Get your space back," click Free up account storage.
  4. Under "Clean up suggested items" or "Clean up by service," click a category or service you want to review.
  5. Select the files to delete.

How do I free up space on my Android without deleting everything? ›

  1. Close apps that don't respond. You don't usually need to close apps. ...
  2. Uninstall apps you don't use. If you uninstall an app and need it later, you can download it again. ...
  3. Clear the app's cache & data. You can usually clear an app's cache and data with your phone's Settings app.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Aron Pacocha

Last Updated:

Views: 6069

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (68 voted)

Reviews: 91% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Aron Pacocha

Birthday: 1999-08-12

Address: 3808 Moen Corner, Gorczanyport, FL 67364-2074

Phone: +393457723392

Job: Retail Consultant

Hobby: Jewelry making, Cooking, Gaming, Reading, Juggling, Cabaret, Origami

Introduction: My name is Aron Pacocha, I am a happy, tasty, innocent, proud, talented, courageous, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.