New Delhi: Google is now putting a twist on its new user free cloud storage offer. Google has now apparently reduced the amount of free storage space new users can get to 5GB unless they provide a phone number during account creation, as reported by users and confirmed via changes on Google’s support pages.
Google has been giving 15GB of free space to all Google account holders for many years now, for their Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos accounts. The storage space is always regarded as more generous compared to competitors like Apple. But some new changes indicate that the whole 15GB might not be available automatically for all.
New accounts reportedly capped at 5GB without verification
Google has now reduced the default storage you get when you create a new gmail account from 15GB to 5GB?
— X (@TheZentini) May 7, 2026
The first thing that became apparent was when a user posted screenshots during the account creation process. It is said that the setup page informed the user that the account would only be given 5GB of space until a phone number was added to it.
During the setup process, the message read: “Unlock 15 GB storage at no cost with your phone number.” It will also be used to “ensure that the extra storage is allocated only once per person”, it added.
According to reports, the support link attached to the notice was broken at the time it was accessed.
Google quietly updated its support language
More proof of the policy change can be seen on Google’s official support pages. Previously, Google announced that each account has 15 GB of “cloud storage” for free. That’s now been revised to read “up to 15 GB of cloud storage free of charge.”
The webpage’s language appears to have been modified at some point between March 2026 and the present time, as there are several archived versions of the page that show the language evolving. The updated text has been seen in old snapshots from March 18th.
The change itself has not been announced by Google, and it isn’t clearly mentioned on their support pages that phone verification is required for the full storage allocation. Many users have already faced verification on their phones when they signed up for an account on desktop and mobile.
Why Google may be making this change
The idea seems to be to prevent abuse of Google’s free storage service. The idea is that the higher the storage amount, the higher the phone number will be, making it more difficult for bots or users to register an unlimited number of accounts, giving them access to unlimited free cloud storage.
Policy may also help Google keep its infrastructure costs in check. The demand for cloud storage has risen substantially in the past few years, and storing data may still be more costly than expanding storage hardware.
The move comes amid a wider crackdown on account controls and restrictions on abuse of free services in the industry and is met with criticism by some users because of privacy concerns and the requirement to verify accounts with the phone.
Google has yet to make an official announcement in the public domain regarding the new storage policy.