Hands-On Tech 226: Troubleshooting Google Drive Storage Space

Summary

Podcast Summary: Hands-On Tech 226: Troubleshooting Google Drive Storage Space

Introduction

In this episode of Hands-On Tech, hosted by Micah Sargent, the focus is on troubleshooting storage space issues within Google’s suite of services, including Google Drive and Google Photos. Released on July 27, 2025, this episode delves into common problems users face when managing their Google storage and provides actionable solutions to free up space effectively.

Listener’s Concern: Storage Space Not Freeing Up

The episode kicks off with Micah addressing a pressing question from a listener named Mike:

"[00:52] Micah Sargent: Hello and welcome to Hands On Tech. I am Micah Sargent and today I'm excited to answer this question. ... My wife's phone is telling her that her storage in Gmail, Photos, etc. Is at 98% full and if it gets to full she won't be able to Save more photos, receive email, etc." ([01:17])

Mike explains that despite deleting non-essential emails and backing up Google Photos to a Synology NAS, the storage space remains at 98% full even after deleting over 1,000 photos. This issue persists beyond the expected 24-hour period needed for the storage space to update.

Understanding Google’s Trash System

Micah addresses the core of Mike’s issue by explaining how Google manages deleted files:

"[02:10] Micah Sargent: The number one reason why storage space doesn't update after a massive, massive deletion is that when you delete files from Google Photos, from Gmail, from Google Drive, they aren't gone forever. Right away they get moved to a trash can or a bin and this is a special folder where 30 to 60 days from then those things get automatically deleted." ([03:00])

Micah emphasizes that items in the trash still count against the storage quota:

"[04:15] Micah Sargent: ...something is maintaining that that is still storage that is taken up. ... you need to go to those different trash cans and bins and remove it from there too." ([04:20])

Step-by-Step Solutions

To effectively free up storage space, Micah provides a comprehensive guide:

1. Emptying Trash in Google Services

   • Google Photos Trash:

     "[05:30] Micah Sargent: ...go to photos.google.com/trash and empty the trash." ([05:35])

   • Google Drive Trash:

     "[06:00] Micah Sargent: ...go to drive.google.com/drive/trash and make sure that that is emptied out." ([06:05])

   • Gmail Trash and Spam:

     "[06:45] Micah Sargent: ...head to Gmail’s trash spot and the spam spot and get rid of stuff from both of those places. Make sure it's deleted forever." ([06:50])

2. Using Google Storage Manager Tool

   Micah introduces the Google Storage Manager as a vital tool for diagnosing and managing storage issues:

   "[09:10] Micah Sargent: ...Google's storage manager tool. This is specifically for people who are having issues with their storage space. It's at one.google.com, that's O-N-E not the number one.google.com/storage management. ... it gives you feedback and advice on how to save storage space." ([09:15])

Policy Changes Affecting Storage Quotas

A significant portion of the episode highlights a crucial policy change by Google that impacts storage management:

"[10:00] Micah Sargent: Google once had a policy in place that any photos uploaded in storage Saver, which was formerly known as high quality, did not count against your storage quota. ... It changed its policy on June 1st of 2021. If your wife has used Google Photos for longer than since 2021, understand that photos uploaded in any quality after June 1st of 2021 count against that quota. But photos stored before that do not." ([10:05])

This change means that any photos uploaded after June 1, 2021, now consume storage space, contrary to previous policies where high-quality uploads were free. Consequently, deleting old photos that do not count against the quota will not affect storage space, leading to confusion and frustration among users.

Recommendations for Managing Increasing Storage Needs

Micah acknowledges the likelihood that users, like Mike, may continue to take more photos and videos, potentially exacerbating storage issues. He suggests considering upgrading storage as a viable solution:

"[11:30] Micah Sargent: It may be time to look at paying for more storage. ... Google One offers multiple subscriptions to up the amount of storage space that you have across your Google account, and that will make things a lot more roomy for your wife's device and account." ([11:35])

Community Feedback and Confirmation

Adding weight to his advice, Micah references a comment from Jammer B in the chat:

"[07:16] Jammer B: My sister had the same issue, ... It disappeared in two weeks when the trash auto-deleted." ([07:20])

This anecdote supports the explanation that items in the trash can significantly impact storage until permanently deleted.

Conclusion and Final Advice

Micah wraps up the discussion by reiterating the importance of thoroughly managing the trash across Google’s services and utilizing the Storage Manager tool. He encourages listeners to consider upgrading their storage plans if their needs exceed the free quota. Additionally, Micah invites listeners to reach out with further questions, fostering an interactive and supportive community environment.

"[12:50] Micah Sargent: I would love to hear the you know, what ended up working for you, ... I'm happy to help all of you out with the questions you might have." ([12:55])

Additional Content: Promotions and Advertisements

While the main content centers on troubleshooting Google Drive storage, the episode includes segments promoting T-Mobile’s Family Freedom offer and Red Canary’s cybersecurity services. These sections, along with promotional content for Club TWiT, are strategically placed between the main discussions but are not essential to the technical content and solutions provided.

Key Takeaways

• Deleted files in Google services reside in the trash for 30 to 60 days, continuing to consume storage space until permanently deleted.
• Google’s policy change in June 2021 means that photos uploaded after this date now count against the storage quota, regardless of upload quality.
• Utilize Google’s Storage Manager tool for a comprehensive overview and management of your storage usage.
• Consider upgrading to Google One for additional storage space if necessary.
• Regularly empty trash across all Google services to ensure storage space is freed effectively.

Final Thoughts

Micah Sargent provides a thorough and user-friendly guide to managing and troubleshooting storage space issues within Google’s ecosystem. By addressing both procedural steps and policy-related nuances, listeners are equipped with the knowledge to navigate and resolve their storage challenges efficiently.

Transcript

[Micah Sargent]

Coming up on Hands On Tech, let's take a look at troubleshooting storage space in Google Drive, Google Photos and every other Google solution. Stay tuned for this episode of Hands On Tech. This is twit. Let's map out this week's amazing destinations and travel tips.

[Will]

Honestly, Will, I didn't plan any trips, but I did switch to T Mobile with their new Family Freedom offer.

[Jammer B]

That's not the itinerary we're following.

[Will]

Well, I'm departing from ATT and embarking on a new journey with T Mobile. They paid off my family's four phones up to 3, $200 and gave us four new phones on the house.

[Micah Sargent]

Bon voyage.

[T Mobile Representative]

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[Jammer B]

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[Micah Sargent]

Hello and welcome to Hands On Tech. I am Micah Sargent and today I'm excited to answer this question. It's something that I get a lot and it's time to finally provide the answer that you've been looking for. If you have questions by the way, for me, hot tv. That's how you get in touch with me again. I love that rhymes but I would love to hear from you. As I always encourage, please do write in with all of the information you can possibly provide. You may feel like you're saying too much, but I promise you it's worth having it all. This week's question comes in from Mike, who asks along with many of you, hello, I hope you can help me figure this out. My wife's phone is telling her that her storage in Gmail, Photos, etc. Is at 98% full and if it gets to full she won't be able to Save more photos, receive email, etc. So we have deleted all non essential email and have backed up all of her Google Photos to my synology nas. After we did that, she went on a ruthless photo deleting binge and deleted more than 1,000 photos. We don't even store them at full native resolution. We use one of the reduced size options. In any case, Photos says that it can take up to 24 hours to see any storage space freed up after deleting things. It has been well over 24 hours and Google still says that her storage is at 98% full help. If these are truly deleted, this cannot be the case. How can we free up space in her Google storage? I didn't care if this gets oh and then Mike goes on to say, hey, even if this doesn't make it on the show, could you please help me? Mike, you're on the show. So let's talk about this. Believe it or not, depending on which service we're talking about, and it seems like what type of day, what time of day. I mean, there's a place you may need to go to make sure that the stuff is gone. Even after you think it's gone, you can't forget about the trash. The number one reason why storage space doesn't update after a massive, massive deletion is that when you delete files from Google Photos, from Gmail, from Google Drive, they aren't gone forever. Right away they get moved to a trash can or a bin and this is a special folder where 30 to 60 days from then those things get automatically deleted. And depending on who you talk to, who you ask, what you read, sources will tell you that that will still count against your storage quota. And I have to believe that this is the case that even though they get put in that trash or bin spot somewhere, something is maintaining that that is still storage that is taken up. I think it has to do with the fact that maybe someone might pull stuff out of the trash and put it back into their system. I'm not sure. But whatever is the case, you need to go to those different trash cans and bins and remove it from there too. Especially within that first week. Because again, it takes 30 to 90 days for those spots to get cleared out. So here's the good news I have for you. You're going to go onto a computer and you're going to go to the following links. Yes, we're providing you with actual links. Photos.google.com trash go in there and empty the trash and then drive.google.com drive trash go in there and make sure that that is emptied out. There should be a button where you can say delete all or empty all or select all and delete or some version of that that is going to remove it from that spot and that will likely help. I'm checking to Jammer B says in the chat my sister had the same issue, had her delete and she did freaked out that the percent didn't go down. It disappeared in two weeks when the trash auto deleted. So thank you Jammer B. There is confirmation as well that if it's in the trash, it may still be counting against your storage. So head to those different places and delete what's in the trash. That is why on you know, your actual local drive, when you get that storage space issue and you've moved things to your recycling bin or your trash can, it's still taking up space on your machine. You've got to get rid of it from there too. And of course dependents among us would say that it may even still be taking up space after that. But we're not. We're not talking about that right now. So photos.google.comtrashdrive.google.com drive trash we'll have links in the show notes, but head there and you need to go on a computer. The mobile versions of this might not give you the same access, so it's just best to go from a computer. And then don't forget about Gmail as well. Head to the trash spot and the spam spot and get rid of stuff from both of those places. Make sure it's deleted forever. Let's map out this week's amazing destinations and travel tips.

[Will]

Honestly Will, I didn't plan any trips, but I did switch to T Mobile with their new Family Freedom offer.

[Jammer B]

That's not the itinerary we're following.

[Will]

Well, I'm departing from AT&T and embarking on a new journey with T Mobile. They paid off my family's four phones up to $3200 and gave us four new phones on the house.

[Micah Sargent]

Bon voyage.

[T Mobile Representative]

Introducing Family Freedom Our lowest cost will switch our biggest family savings all on America's largest 5G network. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com FamilyFreedom up to $800 per line via virtual prepaid card typically takes 15 days. Free phones via 24 monthly bill credits with finance agreement eg Apple iPhone 16 128GB 8299 eligible trade in eg iPhone 11 Pro for well qualified credits end and balance due if you pay off early or cancel contact T mobile.

[Jammer B]

Now.

[Micah Sargent]

If you thought that that was the gotcha that that was the tricky, tricksy little moment, I've got bad news for you. There's something that's even more tricksy that you may not be considering. Google once had a policy in place that any photos uploaded in storage Saver, which was formerly known as high quality, did not count against your storage quota. That those photos uploaded via that means were completely free in terms of not taking up your storage space. Google was offering to save them for free. It changed its policy on June 1st of 2021. If your wife has used you have used Google Photos for longer than since 2021, understand that photos uploaded in any quality after June 1st of 2021 count against that quota. But photos stored before that do not. So here's the gotcha. Your wife went through and did a massive ruthless deletion. I would not be surprised to hear that many of the photos she deleted. If you've been on the platform for as long as you have came pre June 2021 and because those photos were updated uploaded at that time, they were uploaded without taking up any space, they were uploaded for free, they didn't count against the quota. So removing them is also not going to make a change to the quota because those are free photos. So the only way to have an impact storage space is if you remove photos that come from June 2021 to now. Anything from before that is just there. So those thousands of photos may have been oh, these are old. These are screenshots from then it's a photo of that I took accidentally and it's, you know, looking off into the whatever. If it came from before 2021, it's not making an impact on that storage space. Then lastly, I want to mention good Google's, excuse me, Google's storage manager tool. This is specifically for people who are having issues with their storage space. It's at1.google.com and that's O N E not the number1.google.com storage management. And when you go there, it sort of analyzes the storage across your whole Google account and gives you feedback and advice on how to save storage space. This is something that can give you kind of an overview of what's going on and potentially provide that solution that you're looking for. But there's something else that I want to mention. You mentioned that the big reason why you are really paying attention to your storage space space right now is because of a grandchild that you're taking lots of photos and videos of. My guess is that's not going to slow down. You're going to continue to take photos and videos of your grandchild. So as difficult as it might be to stomach for some people, it may be time to look at paying for more storage. And by that I mean cloud storage. Google one offers multiple subscriptions to up the amount of storage space that you have across your Google account, and that will make things a lot more roomy for your wife's device and account and your collective increase in media that you're experiencing right now. So between emptying out the different trash bins, which I think is going to probably take care of the solution in the short term, and making sure that the photos that you're removing came after Google changed its policy, and then using that storage manager tool, I think you'll get there in the end. But there may come a time where there's nothing left to remove and instead it becomes time to invest in a larger amount of storage available to you. In any case, as I always say, Mike, I would love to hear the you know, what ended up working for you, what ended up working for your wife. If none of that works, as always, be sure to reach out. There may be something else we have yet to uncover and I'm happy to help you out with that. I'm also happy to help all of you out with the questions you might have. If you've got a question, email me. H o t @twitter TV is how you get in touch. Love to hear from your Love to answer your tech questions. Thank you so much for tuning in this week to Hands On Tech. We'll be back next week and next month with another episode. Bye bye.

[Jammer B]

Hey, thanks for tuning in to TWiT, your tech hub for intelligent, thoughtful conversations. If you want to take your experience to the next level and support what we do here at TWiT, say goodbye to Ads and say hello to Club Twit. With Club Twit, you unlock all our shows ad free. You also get exclusive members only content. We do a lot of great programming just for the club members. You also get behind the scenes access with our Twit plus bonus feed and live video streams while we're recording. And don't forget the fantastic members only discord. It's where passionate tech fans like you and me hang out, swap ideas and connect directly with all of our hosts. It's my favorite social network. I think you'll like it too. Club Twit. It's not just a subscription it's how you support what we do and become part of the Twit family. Your membership directly supports the network and helping us stay independent and keep making the shows you love. If you're ready to upgrade your tech podcast experience, head to Twit TV Club Twit and join us today. Thanks for being here and I'll see you in the club.