Google Drive: Check out tricks to free up space in the cloud
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O Google Drive is one of the most famous cloud storage services on the internet. However, the basic service package only offers 15 GB of free space, which is too little for many users.
The service offers the Premium option, with more space, but if you are not willing to invest your money in the cloud, in this article we explore some tips that can help you free up space in your repository. Google Drive.
Freeing up space on Google Drive
First, you need to know how the service works on each platform, as it is compatible with both mobile and mobile device systems. Android e iOS and with desktop in one Windows PC.
For example, both in iPhone how much in appliances Android, the service of Google Drive can be used in conjunction with Google Photos, making all the photos taken by the smartphone stored in the cloud.
The great advantage of using Google Photos is that if the user chooses to store the photos with maximum quality, Google offers unlimited space to store them. So when it comes to your images, you don't have to worry about using up too much space on your cloud.
On PC, Google has a desktop version of Drive that allows the synchronization of files placed in the local folder of the service with the cloud.
That is, all files you add to the local Drive folder on your computer will be added to the cloud. In this case, you need to be careful with the use of space, because once the cloud is full, the automatic synchronization is canceled.
Having said these warnings, let's explore the tips that you can use to “downsize” your Google Drive.
1 – Remove backup of photo albums
First, you must install Google Photos on your device. With this tip, you keep only important albums backed up and don't fill the cloud with unnecessary files. To turn this feature on and off, open the Google Photos app on Android.
Then select the button “Albums” and choose one of the albums on your smartphone. Notice that above the album there is a button indicating “Backup and Sync”. If you want the images in this album not to be automatically saved, just turn this option off.
2 – Scan and delete files
To get more space on Google Drive, open the app on Android and tap on the top right menu, indicated by the three dots. select option “Sort by”. In the tab displayed at the bottom of the screen, check the option “Used Storage”. That way you can see the size and space occupied by each file in your cloud.
Items will now be organized in your Drive by the most storage, including within specific folders. Want to free up space by removing files you no longer need or are unnecessary? Then tap the menu with “three dots” next to the item and select "To remove" to erase from Drive.
3 – Empty Drive Trash on Android
As with any operating system, even after being deleted, files remain in the cloud for a while inside the recycle bin. To clean up once and for all and free up space on your Drive, open the side menu on the left of the Drive app, indicated by the three lines, and select "Bin".
All files that are still in the cloud will be shown in the recycle bin. Tap on-screen menu button, with three dots icon. After that, select the option "Empty the trashcan" and confirm in “Definitely exclude”. Remember that this action permanently removes files from your cloud, so be careful when using it!
4 – Manage Backups on Google Drive
Unfortunately, your Google Drive may be saving data and files from old devices or apps unnecessarily, which can end up filling up your cloud space. To resolve and manage this issue, open the side menu and select "Backups".
The list of all backups linked to your Google Drive account will be shown. To remove a backup you don't need, tap on one of the items in the menu. Finally, select “Delete Backup” in the displayed window. confirm in "Delete".
5 – Clear the Drive cache
The last good tip for you to free up more space on the Google cloud is to clear your Drive cache, which can take up from 100MB up to 1000MB! To do this, open the side menu on the left of the app and select “Settings”. then select "Clear cache" and confirm in "OK".
It's worth remembering that most of these tips involve permanently deleting files from your cloud in Google Drive, so make sure what data you really want to remove or that you already have a backup saved elsewhere.
Also, regarding your photos, check how the synchronization of your smartphone's camera captures with Google Photos is configured, since the backup can be configured to be carried out automatically via Wi-Fi or mobile data (or both) .
Sometimes you may not be saving the photos or simply uploading them to the cloud, which ends up taking up unnecessary space if you like to select which images to keep.
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