Gmail Storage Full Issue : how to solve

Google’s email service, Gmail, is adored by many. However, as users, we may occasionally encounter a perplexing problem, especially regarding its storage. One nuance that may leave you scratching your head is when Gmail indicates that your storage is full when it shouldn’t be. “Why is my Gmail full, and how do I clear space?” are questions that need comprehensive answers.

Scope of the article

This article aims to delve into the technicalities of Gmail’s storage system, helping you understand how it works, why your Gmail might become full, and effective strategies to solve this issue. We’ll explore the issue from various angles, from figuring out what causes the problem to a range of solutions and frequently asked questions about the Gmail storage full issue.

Potential Solutions to the Gmail Storage Full Issue

Baxter – email organizer and subscriber chrome extension

Baxter is a highly-effective Chrome extension that can help you keep your Gmail clean and organized. This tool acts as a clever email assistant by automatically sorting & filtering emails according to your preferences. One fantastic feature of Baxter is its batch mode, which empowers you to de-clutter your inbox from multiple accounts with just a few clicks.

Here’s how you can use this tool:

1. Install Baxter from the Chrome Web Store.
2. Configure the settings to your personal preference.
3. Utilize its batch mode feature to bulk archive, delete or keep emails.
4. Use the subscription tracking feature to unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters or promotions, keeping your inbox sanitary.

Kindly, note that Baxter is not a solution to increase Gmail storage space but an excellent tool to manage your Gmail account effectively, thus avoiding a full storage scenario.

Empty Google Drive Trash

Google Drive, like Gmail, stores deleted files in the Trash folder. These files still occupy cloud storage space the same way emails do in Gmail. If your Google Drive says your storage is full even though it appears empty, check the Trash in Google Drive.

To clear the Google Drive Trash:

1. Sign in to your Google Drive account on your web browser.
2. Look for the ‘Trash’ link in the left sidebar of the Google Drive page.
3. Clicking on “Trash,” a new page will appear with all your deleted files.
4. Then select the “Empty Trash” option.
5. Finally, confirm this by choosing ‘Delete Forever’ to permanently remove these files, freeing up Google Drive space.

Upon clearing your Google Drive’s Trash, check your overall Google account to see how much storage space you have now reclaimed. This step is often overlooked, therefore, reminding users to empty their Google Drive Trash can be helpful in managing storage space.

Compressing Google Photos

Photos and videos occupy substantial space in your Google account. Luckily, Google Photos offers a feature that lets you compress your multimedia files, thereby reducing their size and free up storage space.

Here’s how you can compress files already uploaded to Google Photos:

1. Open Google Photos on your computer.
2. Click on the gear icon located at the top-right corner of the page.
3. Choose “Manage storage” on the Settings page.
4. Scroll down to find “Recover storage”, and click “Learn more”.
5. Tick “I understand that compressing my existing photos & videos cannot be undone” and hit “Compress existing photos & videos”.

This process will convert your files from their original high quality to a storage-saving quality. While there might be a slight impact, it is often unnoticeable in most cases.

Remember, Google Photos only compresses items stored within its platform. Your files in Google Drive and YouTube remain unaffected. Applying this practice regularly will eventually help you master storage management in your Gmail account.

Emptying Trash and Spam Folders in Gmail

Maintaining or freeing up your Gmail storage space doesn’t stop at deleting unnecessary emails and attachments alone; handling your Trash and Spam folders is equally crucial. Emails in Trash and Spam still occupy space, so here is how you manage them:

1. First, log in to your Gmail account.
2. Tap ‘More’ on the left sidebar, choose ‘Spam’.
3. Select all the emails in this folder, then click ‘Delete forever’.

Tip: If your emails in the Spam/Trash folders are larger than 50 emails, you can hit ‘Select all conversations in Spam/Trash’ to select them all at once.

1. Now, click on ‘Trash’, choose all the emails you want to delete, and hit ‘Delete forever’. Alternatively, you can just click ‘Empty trash now’.

After emptying all emails from Trash and Spam, check your Gmail storage space to see if it’s in the normal range. Regular cleanup of Spams and Trash folders helps maintain a healthy storage space.

Archive Gmail Emails and Regularly Free Up Gmail Space

By archiving emails, you can keep your inbox clean without worrying about the storage space. When you archive an email, it disappears from your inbox while still being stored in your account. You can access these emails anytime by simply using the ‘All Mail’ label.

Here’s how you can archive your Gmail emails:

1. Open Gmail and login to your account.
2. Check the boxes next to the emails which you want to archive.
3. Click on the ‘Archive’ button at the top of the page.

While this keeps your inbox clean, remember, archiving emails doesn’t free up Gmail storage space because these emails are still stored in the ‘All Mail’ section. To free up space, you need to permanently delete these emails which follow:

1. Go to ‘All Mail’ label.
2. Check the boxes next to the emails you wish to permanently delete.
3. Click on ‘Delete’ button at the top of the page.
4. Then, go to ‘Trash folder’ and click ‘Empty Trash Now’ button.

Regularly archiving and deleting unnecessary emails will keep you from encountering the Gmail storage full situation.

How do I clean up my Gmail storage for free?

Reviving your Gmail from being claustrophobic can be achieved for free. Here are some effective strategies:

1. Delete Large Emails: Use Gmail’s search to find large emails by typing “larger:10M” (you can adjust the number for larger files) and deleting unnecessary ones.
2. Remove Old Emails: Use Gmail search to find old emails, for example with “older_than:1y” (for emails older than one year). If they’re no longer needed, you can delete them.
3. Empty Trash and Spam Folders: Periodically empty your Trash and Spam folders to ensure deleted emails aren’t still eating up space.
4. Unsubscribe from Newsletters and Promotions: Unwanted newsletters and promotional emails can fill up your inbox quickly. Use Gmail’s ‘unsubscribe’ feature to opt-out of these.
5. Delete or Archive Unnecessary Emails: Regularly review and delete or archive non-essential emails.
6. Manage Google Drive and Google Photos: Remember that your storage is shared across Google’s services. Manage your files on Google Drive and compress your photos on Google Photos to free up space.
7. Use Tools like Google’s Storage Manager: This built-in feature in Google One helps you understand how you’re using your storage and recommends files for you to delete.
8. Ensure Multiple Devices Aren’t Syncing Unnecessary Data: If multiple devices are syncing data to your Google account, check the sync settings to ensure unnecessary data isn’t being backed up.

By following these strategies, you can manage and clear your Gmail storage efficiently.