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The era of 15GB free Gmail storage is ending (Update: Google responds)
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this post was submitted on 15 May 2026
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I'm intentionaly letting it overfill
Imagine how much of Earth's storage space is marketing emails that no one reads.
Whats the fucking point if they only let you attach a 25mb or smaller file.
wtf do they need a ph# for? theyve got your email and sms ids(same as ph#). a ph# just seems like a bit of sales pitch food
THATS THE ONLY REASON PEOPLE STILL USE GMAIL! Proton Mail has 1 free gb, I didn’t use it when I had the free plan.
Unfortunately not, the main reason the majority of people use gmail is that they don't even know there are other email providers.
"You have 15 GB of space as long as you're not using it all"
"You used 80% of your free 15GB, upgrade for more storage. Only $9.99/mo... I mean 5.99/month."
"Wait it's $0.36/month for 3 months."
"No email for you cause you used all 15G. Pay up."
Paraphrase from tactics that they are trying for me to sign up. Heck never.
New users.
Even still, I moved off Gmail years ago. I keep my Google fingerprint minimal.
Pay for webmail.
Be the product.
Choose the form of the destructor.
Why not both? /s
We already see $1,500 TVs showing ads.
I see a Ghostbusters quote, I upvote
I blame Microslop
5GB is plenty for emails, won't be an issue for 99% of people.
THE problem with google's storage is that they actively mislead consumers:
- They bother customers during setup and after with: "Do you want to backup your device?" To which a considerable amount of people react to as "Yeah ofcourse I want that!"
- Google does not show any indication where this backup goes or about the eventual payment so people just forget about it.
- After some time their gmail and photos app will start to complain: "YOUR STORAGE IS FULL" - with constant notifications. And their Gmail stops working so they can't receive emails anymore.
- These regular people confuse 'storage' with internal storage so they start looking for ways to expand their internal storage, which obviously doesn't do anything.
- Eventually they give up and either pay google the ransom or make a new email.
This is the real dark pattern behind their "free cloud"
ive seen people with full gmail accounts and thounds of unread emails
Worst part is every job, educational institution, legal institution, will send you PDFs to your gmail.
What a racket, if my father was a bit more sane...
...I'd have him prepare me for actual war. He can run in complete silence in a forest.
It is interesting. I've deleted almost all my emails from my Gmail account and it just won't go bellow 50% full. There is no way to see what is taking up the space.
My mother on the other hand has 3000+ emails and it's at like 15% full. They absolutely do this on purpose.
Did you ever use Google Photos to store your pics? That is what has my Gmail/google storage at 99% full, even though it's been over a decade since I used it and I disconnected it from all my accounts.. except apparently not. You can go through the steps to disconnect, it looks like it works, but it doesn't. I currently have an iPhone, and if I try to delete all the photos in Google Photos, it will still sync with my phone and also delete the same photos on my phone. No matter what I do, I can't severe that connection. And so I'm stuck at 99%
Are you sure you're not using anything else google related that might clog it up? That's what I'm getting at. Check google one for a breakdown.
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Anyone else remember when Google bragged about never being worried about storage as you watched your storage free count, grow and grow and grow.
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They really think they can get away with anything don't they... All the mainstream companies do.
When have they been wrong?
The market is saturated and "don't be evil" was a long, long time ago...
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Is Proton okay?
as long as you pay them
Yes, unless you read into the missinfo campaings. They will follow your local laws, but you can control how much info they have on you.
Thank you Google for TURNING INTO FUCKING APPLE RIGHT AFTER I SWITCH TO A FUCKING PIXEL
GrapheneOS is built for Google devices. Doesn't really solve the email problem though.
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Remember the 1GB Gmail reaction? I remember:
Damn, this image can now drink alcohol in the US.
- Google is reportedly testing a 5GB storage limit for new Gmail accounts, down from the standard 15GB.
- Users can “unlock” the full 15GB of free storage by adding a phone number to their account.
Seems they’re trying to get phone numbers this way. Maybe it’s for increased user data, maybe it’s to prevent fraudulent activity, maybe it’s to have more information to give authorities.
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