From the get-go, Google Drive gives all of its users 15GB of storage space on their cloud, but it might not take you long to take up all the available space. Nothing to worry about, though, because this guide will teach you how to delete files from Google Drive to free up space.
Difficulty
Easy
Duration
5 minutes
What You Need
-
Desktop PC, laptop, tablet, or phone with Google Drive
Previously you could delete photos from your drive directly from Google Photos. But ever since Google stopped syncing Google Drive and Google Photos, you have to do it manually from your Drive.
Step 1: To get started, go to drive.google.com from your browser and sign in.
Step 2: Once you log in, you will see your Drive’s home page with the Storage menu on the bottom of the sidebar on the left. Google, fortunately, has made it easy to manage your storage. It will show you how much storage space you have left in your drive. Click on the Storage option.
Step 3: You should now be looking at a list of files sorted according to size with the largest file at the top. Click on a file you wish to delete by simply clicking on it. You can select multiple files by holding down the Ctrl/Command key on your keyboard and clicking on the files you want to remove.
Step 4: Once you have all the files you wish to remove selected, click on the trash can icon in the toolbar at the top. Google will instantly remove the files and send them to your Trash folder.
Step 5: You will see that your files are gone but you haven’t freed up any space. That’s because Google keeps those files in the trash folder for 30 days before permanently deleting them. If you want to permanently delete those files, you will have to do it manually. To do this, go to the Bin or Trash section (depending on your region) in the left sidebar.
Step 6: Here, you will see a list of files you have deleted within the last 30 days. Select the files you want to remove permanently.
Step 7: Once you have your files selected, simply click on the bin icon that says Delete forever in the toolbar at the top. You may also right-click on the selected files and select Delete forever.
Step 8: If you want to speed things up and delete everything all at once, simply click on Empty trash in the top toolbar. This action will delete everything in your bin and free up some storage space.
It’s easy to find yourself in a pickle with storage space issues on your Google Drive. Deleting files manually can save you some space and you won’t need to buy extra storage.
Want to learn more? Here are a few extra tips on how to use Google Drive.