Edgar Cervantes/Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is reportedly testing reducing the storage limit for new Gmail accounts from the standard 15GB to 5GB.
- Users can “unlock” the entire 15GB of free storage by adding a phone number to their account.
- It’s unclear at this time whether this is a permanent rollout or limited A/B testing.
You usually get 15GB of free cloud storage when you sign up for a Gmail account. This is quite generous if managed well, and is generally good enough for most people. However, it looks like Google is only testing offering 5GB of free storage unless you add a phone number to your account.
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According to the screenshot shared by the user on Reddit sungusunguGoogle only gave them 5GB of free storage with their new Gmail account. Additionally, the company gave them the option to unlock the full 15GB of free storage by adding a phone number.
Users on Reddit responded with questions about the “free” services, with some saying it’s a new way for Google to collect data from its users. However, many users also pointed out that this may be to prevent spam.
In the meantime, I tried creating a new Gmail account to see if it shows up for me as well. However, Google won’t let me proceed without adding the phone number at first. On the other hand, my alternate Gmail account, which has no phone number added, still shows I have 15GB of storage.
It’s unclear if this is a change that is being implemented or Google is running A/B testing in certain areas. Google hasn’t announced any changes, and it support page Still mentions that every account gets 15GB of free storage. For now, it seems there is nothing to worry about.
We’ve contacted Google for comment and will update this article when we hear back.
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