This hidden Gmail trick unlocks 15GB of storage for free.
When you sign up for a Google email account, you automatically receive a generous 15GB of free storage. But that space can disappear quickly as the same allocation covers everything in Google Drive and Google Photos.
Google does offer paid storage upgrades through Google One accounts like the 'Basic' tier which costs $24 annually for 100GB.
However, you'll be glad to know there's an free, three-step method way to clear up storage space without having to manually sift through your emails or sacrifice the files you need.
1. Back up everything first
If you're going through this process, you probably have years of emails you want to keep. As a safety precaution, make sure to back up your emails to your computer or an external hard drive before moving them around.
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Visit Google Takeout and choose 'Google Photos' and/or 'Drive' as the content you want to export, then follow the instructions. Keep in mind that this process might take a while, depending on how many emails and gigabytes you have.
2. Prepare your original Gmail for transfer
Once you've saved copies of your email, it's time to transfer them.
First, sign in to your original Gmail account and click the gear icon in the top-right corner. Then click 'See all settings.' Select the 'Forwarding POP/IMAP' and tap 'Enable POP for all mail.'
Under 'When messages are accessed with POP,' you'll see several choices. Pick 'delete Gmail's copy' to automatically remove emails from your original account after they transfer and save the changes.
3. Create a second account as your archive
Now you can create a new account and transfer your messages there.
Once you've done this, log in to your new account, click the gear icon in the top-right corner, and choose 'See all settings.' Click the 'Accounts and Import' tab at the top. Then click 'Add a mail account' next to 'Check mail from other accounts.'
Type in your original Gmail account address in the pop-up window and click 'Next.' Select 'Import emails from my other account (POP3)' and select 'Next' again.
Finally, enter the password of your original Gmail account. Bear in mind, you might need to create a temporary Google app password to sync the accounts.
A pop-up window with your new 16-digit passcode should appear, so make sure to write it down or screenshot it for later. After syncing your accounts, look for 'Port' and tap '995.'
Here, you'll need to check the following three boxes:
- Always use a secure connection (SSL) when retrieving mail
- Label incoming messages
- Archive incoming messages (Skip the Inbox)
Click 'Add account' and voila!
Once the transfer completes, all your old emails will live in your archive account, and your original Gmail will have a clean slate with 15GB of fresh storage space.
Enjoy the extra space!