ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ

Google has ended its unlimited storage offering for educational institutions. Consequently, the University of ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ must adapt by managing our storage within a new, limited quota system. This change requires us to revise our current data storage practices and policies.

To align with new storage management guidance and reduce our overall storage footprint, the University of ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ discontinued the Google Photos service on May 31, 2025. For any questions regarding this change, or to request access to Google Photos, contact your local IT help desk: | | .

The new Google storage limits will take effect on December 31, 2025. To avoid any disruptions, it's important to review and adjust your storage well in advance of the December 31, 2025 date.

Typically, large video files, high-resolution photos, and large email attachments occupy the most space. Regularly reviewing and cleaning these files can help manage your storage effectively.

For an overview of your entire UA Google storage usage, along with current quotas, visit

To check storage usage from your UA Google Drive,  open Settings, and select Storage. Your total storage used will be displayed at the top of the page.

To identify what you can delete from Google Drive, review your storage usage by accessing the ‘Storage’ section in your Drive ‘Settings’. Then sort files by size to find large, unnecessary files, such as old drafts, duplicate documents, large video files, or outdated presentations. Use search functions to target specific file types or dates to identify files you no longer need. Consider moving files to the ‘Trash’ temporarily before permanently deleting them.

To reduce your storage usage:

• Delete large files that are no longer needed, such as videos and old backups
• Delete documents that exceed your university’s retention ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ requirements.
• Empty the trash in Google Drive to permanently remove deleted files.
• Consider optimizing photo storage by adjusting the quality settings in Google Drive.
• Move less frequently accessed files to external storage solutions.

For Gmail (Email):

• Delete Unnecessary Emails: Regularly remove large emails, promotional messages, and social notifications. 
• Archive Important Emails: Archive emails instead of deleting them if you need them but don't need them readily accessible. 
• Manage Subscriptions: Unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters and promotional emails. 
• Handle Attachments Smartly: Be mindful of large attachments, as they can quickly consume storage space. Consider downloading and saving important attachments locally before deleting the email. 
• Empty Spam and Trash Folders: Regularly empty these folders, as they still count towards your storage. 
• Organize with Labels and Folders: Use labels and folders to categorize and organize your emails. 
• Search for large attachments: Use the search function in Gmail (e.g., size:10mb) to find and delete emails with large attachments. 
• Follow the Google Guidebook on managing storage: Visit to help reduce your Google storage footprint.
  
  

For Google Drive/Photos (Storage):

• Check your storage limit: Visit to monitor your Google Drive and Gmail storage usage. 
• Use Google's storage manager: Access the storage manager (usually under "Storage" in Google One) to review and delete unnecessary large files, photos, and videos. 
• Organize Files: Create folders and subfolders to categorize your files in Google Drive. 
• Delete Unnecessary Files: Regularly review and delete files you no longer need, including those in the Trash. 
• Review and Delete Photos and Videos: Find and delete unnecessary duplicate photos and videos. 

General Tips:

• Regularly review your storage usage: Schedule a few minutes each week to check your storage usage, identifying areas where you can free up space. 
• Empty Trash and Spam folders: Deleted emails in these folders still count towards your storage limit until they are permanently deleted (after 30 days). 
• Utilize Google's storage management tools: Google provides built-in tools to help you manage your storage.
• Be mindful of Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc.: New files you create in these applications also consume your storage space.

The university provides limited additional storage for research projects. Contact your IT help desk to request more space and discuss options.

Faculty and students with special storage needs should contact your IT help desk for guidance on alternative solutions: | |

Always check security and compliance when choosing an alternative storage provider. University-approved solutions like OneDrive or institutional cloud storage offer secure options.

For questions about storage limits, alternatives, or assistance, contact your IT help desk | | .

• Clean up unnecessary files, especially Google Photos.
• Check your current Google storage usage.
• Transfer important files to alternative storage.