Google reveals why it is slashing 15GB of free Google Drive storage down to 5GB for new users

Earlier this week, news about Google making a significant update to the account storage policy started doing the rounds. This happened after some users noticed that when trying to sign up for a new Google account, they were now offered 5GB of storage on Google Drive, instead of 15GB which the company had offered so far.

However, the notice also read that users could unlock the full 15GB of storage if they added a phone number to their account. The change seemed to have been centered around making sure that users couldn't get more than 15GB of storage by just creating multiple Gmail accounts.

The company also made the change in its support pages, which now read “Your Google Account comes with up to 15 GB of cloud storage at no charge”.Earlier, the page stated users would receive 15GB of storage,without using the word “up to.”

Notably, archived version of the same support page did not include the word ‘up to’ till around February, meaning Google may have been planning this change since March.

In a statement to Android Authority, Google said, “We’re testing a new storage policy for new accounts created in select regions that will help us continue to provide a high-quality storage service to our users, while encouraging users to improve their account security and data recovery.”

There doesn't seem to be any change for existing accounts that already enjoy 15GB of storage but the vaguely worded statement from Google does not necessarily guarantee that its latest move is aimed at reducing misuse of its storage policy rather than a move at cutting the free storage down.

Notably, Google already requires giving a mobile number to sign up for a new account in order to verify the authenticity of the person signing up. However, ther are some instances where you don't need to give your mobile number while creating an account such as when you are setting up a new smartphone without a SIM card in it.

After the new changes, however, even these users would have to give their phone number for verification in order to ensure that they get the full 15GB of free storage or stay stuck at 5GB storage.

Meanwhile, Google more than doubled its paid tier storage earlier this year, offering the Google Pro users 5TB of free storage, up from 2TB that they previously enjoyed. The plan also offers access to the latest Gemini models at higher usage limits, access to Gemini in Gmail, Docs and other Google apps, along with higher usage limits in NotebookLM and AI video generation via Veo 3 model.