What you get free
up to 15 GB (15 GB for existing accounts and most new accounts; new accounts in select test regions start at 5 GB until a phone number is linked)
Taken from Google Drive's own pricing page on 2026-07-29. Free tiers move, so check the source before you plan around the number.
How it changed
9Every entry below is dated and linked to the announcement it came from. This is the part worth reading before you commit: a free tier that has been cut once can be cut again.
| Date | Change | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| March 2026 | Policy | Google began a test in which newly created personal accounts in unnamed 'select regions' receive only 5 GB of free storage by default, with the full 15 GB unlocked by linking a verified phone number. Google's own help pages were changed from 'comes with 15 GB of cloud storage at no charge' to 'up to 15 GB'. Existing accounts are unaffected. Google accounts no longer get 15GB of free storage, only 5GB until you link a phone number (9to5Google) |
| December 1, 2023 | Policy | December 1, 2023 is the earliest date on which Google could delete an account under the 2-year inactive account policy. Google sends notifications to the account address and any recovery address before deleting. Inactive Google Account Policy (Google Account Help) |
| May 16, 2023 | Policy | Google updated its inactivity policy so that a personal Google Account unused or not signed into for at least 2 years may have the entire account and its contents deleted, including Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar and Google Photos. Effective immediately in policy terms, with actual deletions to begin December 2023 starting with accounts created and never used again. Workspace/school/business accounts excluded; accounts with YouTube videos not targeted at the time. Updating our inactive account policies (Official Google Blog) |
| June 1, 2021 | Policy | The November 2020 announcement took effect. From this date all new Photos uploads, including the compressed tier renamed 'Storage Saver', consume the shared 15 GB free quota. Photos and videos uploaded in High quality before June 1, 2021 remain exempt. The 2-year inactivity and over-quota deletion clocks also started running from this date. Updating Google Photos' storage policy to build for the future (Official Google Blog) |
| November 11, 2020 | Policy | Google announced that from June 1, 2021 new 'High quality' Photos uploads would count against the free 15 GB. The same announcement introduced two deletion policies: content in Gmail, Drive or Photos may be deleted after 2 years of inactivity in that product, and content across all three may be deleted after 2 years over the storage limit. Pixel 1-5 phones kept unlimited High quality uploads. Updating Google Photos' storage policy to build for the future (Official Google Blog) |
| February 9, 2016 | Feature | For Safer Internet Day, Google offered a permanent 2 GB bump to free Drive storage to any consumer account that completed the Security Checkup by Feb 11, 2016. Google ran the same promotion in February 2015, and users who claimed it in 2015 could claim it again in 2016. Excluded Google Apps for Work/Education accounts. Up your online safety in just two minutes (Official Google Blog) |
| May 28, 2015 | Feature | Google Photos was spun out of Google+ at Google I/O with free unlimited storage for photos at up to 16 MP and video at up to 1080p in the 'High quality' tier. Those uploads did not count against the shared 15 GB free quota, effectively making the free tier unlimited for compressed media until June 2021. I/O 2015 - New Google Photos App Launches Today, Includes Unlimited Free Storage Of High Quality Photos And Video (Android Police) |
| May 13, 2013 | Increase | Google merged the separate Drive (5 GB), Gmail (10 GB) and Google+ Photos quotas into a single pooled 15 GB free allowance usable however the account holder wants. Google Apps accounts got 30 GB. The 25 GB paid tier was retired; entry paid tier became 100 GB for $4.99/mo. Bringing it all together: 15 GB now shared between Drive, Gmail, and Google+ Photos (Official Google Drive Blog) |
| April 24, 2012 | Launch | Google Drive went live on April 24, 2012 with 5 GB of free storage per account, separate from Gmail's quota. Paid upgrades started at 25 GB for $2.49/mo, 100 GB for $4.99/mo, 1 TB for $49.99/mo. Google Drive Is Live With 5GB Of Free Storage And Google Docs Hookup (TechCrunch) |
What happens if you stop using it
Inactive for 2 years: A personal Google Account not used or signed into for at least 2 years may be deleted in full along with all of its contents, including Gmail, Google Drive (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, Vids), Calendar, Meet and Google Photos. The earliest…
This is the policy as written by Google Drive, checked on 2026-07-29. It is the clause people discover too late, which is why it gets its own section.
Can a backup tool reach it?
| rclone | Supported via the drive backend docs |
|---|---|
| WebDAV | No — Google has never offered a WebDAV endpoint for Drive. The only official programmatic interface is the Google… |
| API on the free tier | Yes |
Own client ID strongly advised: "It is strongly recommended to use your own client ID as the default rclone ID is heavily used."…
Should you rely on it?
Not on its own. A free tier is a reasonable third copy under the 3-2-1 rule and a poor only copy, for the reason this page documents: the allowance is a business decision the provider can revise, and several on the tracker already have.
If the data matters, pair it with something you control. The offsite backup guide covers the pattern, and cloud backup options compares paid tiers that come with a retention promise instead of a marketing page.
up to 15 GB (15 GB for existing accounts and most new accounts; new accounts in select test regions start at 5 GB until a phone number is linked) Last verified 2026-07-29.
The tracked history holds 9 dated changes, the most recent being Policy on March 2026. Each entry links the announcement it came from.
After 2 years. A personal Google Account not used or signed into for at least 2 years may be deleted in full along with all of its contents, including Gmail, Google Drive (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, Vids), Calendar, Meet and Google Photos. The earliest…
Yes, via the drive backend. WebDAV: No. Free-tier API access: Yes.
No. One copy in one place is not a backup, whoever hosts it. A free tier is a useful third copy inside the 3-2-1 rule, never the only one — free tiers change, and this page exists because they have.