Update
[January 13, 2022]: We have extended the previously announced timeframe for the Google Workspace storage policy changes. Beginning May 2, 2022, any newly created Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, or Jamboard files will count toward storage. See below for more information.
What’s changing
We’re extending the previously announced timeframe for upcoming changes to the Google Workspace storage policy. The updated timeline is:
- June 1, 2021: High-quality photos will count towards Drive quota beginning June 1, 2021. There is no change to this timeline.
- May 2, 2022: Any newly created Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, or Jamboard files will count toward storage. Existing files within these products will not count toward storage, unless they’re modified on or after May 2, 2022. Read more in our Help Center.
Note that there are no changes to the previously announced dates for personal Google accounts.
Who’s impacted
Admins and end users. Storage limits differ across Google Workspace and G Suite editions, but we estimate that the majority of users will not be affected by these changes. See “Getting Started” below for more information on determining storage usage across your organization.
Why it’s important
People are uploading more content than ever before—in fact, more than 4.3 million GB are added across Gmail, Drive, and Photos every day. These changes to our storage policy are necessary to provide our users with a great experience and to keep pace with the growing demand.
We recently announced changes to the pooled storage policy for Workspace for Education customers. As a part of these updates, to empower Google Workspace admins to adapt to this model and optimize their storage, we will provide new admin tools to identify and manage how storage is used and allocated before the policy goes into effect. We’ve decided to delay the count of Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, or Jamboard files count toward storage quotas until that tooling is in place.
Getting started
- Admins: Check out the Apps usage user report (see General > Photos and Drive sections) for a comprehensive look at storage usage across your organization. To understand how much storage you’re allocated on your current plan, see the Usage and support section of the Help Center for Business editions, Enterprise editions, Education editions, and G Suite editions. If you’re not sure which edition you’re using, visit the Billing page in the Admin console.
- End users: Visit the Help Center to learn how to manage files in your Google Account storage.
Rollout pace
High-quality photos
- Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: These policies will go into effect on June 1, 2021
Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, and Jamboard
- Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: These policies will go into effect on May 2, 2022
Availability
- These changes will apply to all customers with Google Workspace and G Suite licenses.
Resources
- Google Workspace Admin Help: User reports: Apps usage
- Google Workspace Admin Help: Compare Business editions (usage and support)
- Google Workspace Admin Help: Compare Enterprise editions (usage and support)
- Google Workspace Admin Help: Compare Education editions (usage and support)
- Google Workspace Admin Help: Compare G Suite Basic and Business editions