The era of 15GB of free storage for Gmail may be coming to an end. Users who have recently signed up for new Google accounts have reported that they receive just 5GB of storage. While it isn’t as draconian as it sounds at first, as users can unlock the full 15GB by adding their phone number, it still marks a notable step up in Google’s campaign to force us to link our phone numbers with our Google accounts.
While this may seem like a move to force people to adopt additional security measures, this feels like the wrong move from Google. Five gigabytes is a paltry amount for new users, and it will quickly fill up.
I’ve long since passed Google’s 15GB limit
It’s a problem most of us face
I’ve had the same Google account for a decade, and I’ve used up 73.99GB of my Google One storage. If I didn’t have an alternative in place, I couldn’t go back without making tough decisions about what to delete.
But here’s the interesting part: were it not for photos, I would only be using 2.17GB of my Google storage. That includes my emails, Drive files, device backups, and app backups. It’s well within the new limits set by Google, so the only problem is photos.
For most people, the situation is likely the same. Photos and videos take up the lion’s share of storage, so if new Google users find a new place for their photos, the 5GB limit won’t be a problem. But where to put them?
A simple solution to storing photos is to take advantage of multiple cloud storage solutions at once. If you have an Amazon Prime subscription, you automatically get unlimited photo storage and 5GB of video storage included within your subscription. It’s incredibly generous, and a no-brainer if you already have a Prime subscription. If you don’t, Amazon offers 5GB of storage, the same as OneDrive and Proton Drive. If you don’t mind juggling multiple apps, splitting your photos across multiple services does work, and can even help you organize your photos (e.g., photos from 2025 in OneDrive, 2024 in Proton Drive, and so on).
QuizCloud storage
Trivia challenge
From gigabytes to the great beyond — how well do you really know where your files live?
HistoryProvidersSecurityTechnologyPioneers
Which cloud storage service, launched in 2006, is widely considered one of the earliest consumer-facing cloud storage platforms?
Correct! Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) launched in March 2006, making it one of the earliest and most influential cloud storage platforms. It was initially aimed at developers but helped lay the foundation for the entire cloud storage industry we know today.
Not quite — the answer is Amazon S3, which launched in March 2006. While Dropbox and Google Drive are more recognizable to everyday consumers, Amazon beat them to market by years, building the infrastructure backbone that many modern cloud services still rely on.
How much free storage does Google Drive offer to new users as of 2024?
That’s right! Google gives users 15 GB of free storage shared across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. It’s a generous starting point, though heavy users of Google’s ecosystem can burn through it surprisingly fast.
The correct answer is 15 GB. Google offers this free tier shared across Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. It’s easy to confuse with competitors — Apple’s iCloud, for example, only offers 5 GB for free, which is notably stingier.
Which company owns the OneDrive cloud storage service?
Correct! OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage offering, deeply integrated into Windows and Microsoft 365. It was originally launched as SkyDrive in 2007 before being rebranded to OneDrive in 2014 following a trademark dispute.
The answer is Microsoft. OneDrive is tightly woven into the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite. It was originally called SkyDrive when it launched in 2007, but a legal challenge from British broadcaster BSkyB forced the name change to OneDrive in 2014.
What does the term ‘object storage’ refer to in the context of cloud storage architecture?
Spot on! Object storage treats each piece of data as a self-contained object with its own metadata and a unique ID, rather than fitting it into a folder hierarchy. This flat structure makes it incredibly scalable, which is why services like Amazon S3 use it to store trillions of objects.
The correct answer is that object storage saves data as discrete objects with metadata and unique identifiers. Unlike traditional file systems with nested folders, this flat architecture is massively scalable — it’s the reason cloud providers can store trillions of files without the system grinding to a halt.
What is ‘end-to-end encryption’ in cloud storage, and which of the following services is known for offering it by default?
Excellent! Tresorit is a well-known cloud storage provider that offers true end-to-end encryption, meaning your files are encrypted on your own device before they ever reach the server. The provider has no ability to access your data, which is a meaningful privacy advantage over mainstream services.
The correct answer is Tresorit. True end-to-end encryption means data is encrypted on your device before upload, so even the storage provider cannot read your files. Most mainstream services like Google Drive and Dropbox encrypt data in transit and at rest, but they hold the encryption keys — meaning they technically could access your files.
Drew Houston co-founded which major cloud storage company after famously forgetting his USB drive on a bus trip?
That’s right! Drew Houston founded Dropbox in 2007, inspired by his own frustration of forgetting a USB drive. He reportedly started coding the first version of Dropbox on the bus ride itself. The company went on to become one of the most recognized names in cloud storage.
The answer is Dropbox. Drew Houston’s founding story is one of Silicon Valley’s most repeated origin tales — he forgot his USB drive before a long trip and decided to solve the problem himself. He started coding what would become Dropbox on that very bus ride, launching the company in 2007.
What is ‘data redundancy’ in cloud storage systems primarily designed to prevent?
Correct! Data redundancy means storing multiple copies of your data across different servers, data centers, or even geographic regions. If one server or facility fails, your data can still be retrieved from another copy, making loss due to hardware failure far less likely.
The right answer is preventing data loss from hardware failure or outages. Cloud providers replicate your data across multiple servers and sometimes multiple physical locations, so a single drive dying or a data center going offline doesn’t mean your files disappear. It’s one of the key reliability advantages of cloud storage over a single hard drive.
Apple’s iCloud service was announced and launched in which year?
Correct! Apple announced iCloud at WWDC in June 2011, and it officially launched in October of the same year alongside iOS 5. It replaced Apple’s earlier MobileMe service, which had been widely criticized for poor reliability and its annual subscription cost.
The answer is 2011. Steve Jobs unveiled iCloud at Apple’s WWDC keynote in June 2011, positioning it as the successor to the troubled MobileMe service. It launched publicly in October 2011 alongside iOS 5, offering seamless syncing of photos, contacts, calendars, and documents across Apple devices.
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The problem with all these solutions is that they rely on the whims of a cloud storage service. If storage limits change, servers go down, or the service suffers a data breach, your photos and personal information are at risk.
Instead, I recommend the hardware route.
You don’t need to mess around with complex hardware setups to store your photos
A cheap external hard drive is all you need
A frequently recommended alternative for cloud storage is a Network Attached Storage (NAS). This is essentially a self-hosted server where you can back up all your files. However, self-hosting isn’t for everyone. Instead, I recommend using the devices you use every day.
My Google Pixel 10 Pro comes with 128GB of storage, a paltry amount in this day and age. My PC, on the other hand, has 1TB of storage. Now, let’s return to the 71.82GB that a decade of photos has taken up. Can you see where those photos can fit without me needing to spend another penny?
However, the real problem is not storage, but management. First, here’s my recommended workflow for subscription-free photo management:
- Take photos and let them fill Google Photos storage.
- Download them to a computer.
- Back them up to a 1TB external hard drive.
My PC can technically store all my photos, but storing them in one place is a bad idea. I run yearly backups, where I copy all my photos from one year into a folder, compress them, and then store them on a 1TB external hard drive with previous years. However, in the three years I’ve been doing this, I’ve never once had to pull photos from it.
I still use Google Photos, because the frequency with which I upgrade Pixel devices means I’m regularly getting free storage (I’m currently coasting on the 5TB that came with my Google Pixel 11 Pro). However, I don’t consider this a reliable solution.
Using your own hardware, whether a NAS or external hard drive, is the most reliable way of storing your photos. But there’s one more problem to tackle.
Storage is easy, management is hard
Good offline photo managers are hard to find
Finding gigabytes or terabytes of storage for your photos is the easy part. But how to manage them? I use Picasa 3, an image organizer that Google stopped supporting in 2016. Despite its dated interface, it’s still superior to anything else I’ve found.
A modern alternative is Immich. This creates what is essentially a private Google Photos service. It’s designed to run on Linux servers (if you already have a NAS, this is the best solution for you), but you can run it on Windows. The setup process is lengthy, but Immich provides a detailed walkthrough.
At the end of the day, 5GB is enough
I’m not a fan of Google’s push to force us to link phone numbers to our Google accounts. It’s one of the reasons why Apple ID is superior. But when there are so many alternatives to Google Photos for storage, 5GB is not as problematic as you might think. Whether you take advantage of Amazon Prime’s generous allowance or comfort yourself with Picasa’s retro appeal like me, you can save thousands of photos without giving Google your phone number or paying it a penny.
