Check Your Current Storage

Most faculty, student, and staff Cornell Google accounts have 15 GB of storage allotted. Alumni accounts have 5 GB. When your account reaches its storage limit, Drive won't allow you to upload or create files, and you won't be able to receive email.

Check how much Google storage you're using. You'll need to sign in with your Cornell NetID and password. 

How to Clear Space

To free space, remove files from your Google accounts. When you check your storage, it will tell you where it's being used.

Clearing Space from Google Drive

• To delete Google Drive files, move them to the trash, then empty your trash. (Files that are in your trash count toward your storage capacity.) If you delete multiple files or folders at once, it might take some time for the changes to take effect. You can list your files by size (largest to smallest) to find the files taking up large amounts of space.
• If you still need quick access to these files, and you also need additional space, review Cornell's File Storage options. Alternative file storage options are available depending on your needs.
• If you want to keep a copy of your files, but you don't need frequent access to them, see what options you have to Move Your Personal Data.

Files shared with you do not count against your storage limits. But if you delete files you've shared with others, it can cause problems for your collaborators. See Google Drive Orphaned Content to learn why that happens, how you can prevent it, and what you can do to find orphaned files.

Clear Space from Gmail

Empty your trash. Files there are not deleted for 30 days and during that time, they still count toward your quota.

Delete large emails. Attachments in Gmail count toward your total storage. To search for email with large attachments,

1. In the Search in mail box, type has:attachment larger:1GB. (Replace the "1" with a higher number to find larger files.)
2. Click Search.
3. Select the emails you don't need, then click Delete.
4. Remember to empty your trash.

If you want to keep a copy of your emails, but you don't need frequent access to them, see what options you have to Move Your Personal Data.

Clearing Space from Photos

Photos and videos can take up very large amounts of space. Deleting them (and then emptying the trash) will free up space in your Google account. To save these files, refer to the options at Move Your Personal Data.

How to Get More Storage Space

Faculty, students, and staff who need more space for studies, work, or research should explore the options at File Storage at Cornell. Alumni Cornell Google storage is capped at 5 GB. If you work with sensitive, or high risk, data, refer to the information about Regulated Data.