Google is fundamentally changing how it hands out free cloud storage to combat bot networks and duplicate account farming. The company has quietly initiated a new policy in select regions that slashes the default free storage space for newly created Google accounts from the traditional 15GB down to just 5GB.
To unlock the remaining 10GB and restore the standard capacity shared across Gmail, Drive, and Photos, users must link and verify a valid mobile phone number. According to a report by PCWorld, Google cut free storage to 5GB without phone number verification for new users specifically to act as an anti-abuse measure.
A Google spokesperson confirmed the company is currently testing this verification requirement. The system ensures that a single phone number can unlock the 15GB tier exactly once. If a user tries to link that same number to a secondary account, the system automatically caps the new profile at 5GB.
Right now, the tighter storage cap only impacts brand-new accounts created in specific test markets. Users who set up their accounts years ago without attaching a phone number are grandfathered in, meaning they get to keep their legacy 15GB capacity. You can read more about the localized A/B testing nature of this policy via NokiaMob’s recent coverage on the rollout.
How the 5GB Cap Aligns Google With Apple and Microsoft
This policy test ends the first major structural reduction of Google’s free storage tier in over a decade. For years, users could effortlessly create anonymous accounts with an industry-leading 15GB of immediate space. That era of easy, unverified storage hoarding is coming to a close.
By dropping the baseline to 5GB, Google is mechanically aligning its initial free tier with major industry competitors. Apple’s iCloud, Microsoft’s OneDrive, and privacy-focused Proton Drive all offer exactly 5GB for free right out of the gate. Google is simply closing the loophole that made Drive the default dumping ground for unorganized files.