How to Free Up Space on Google Drive on PC or Mac

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

This wikiHow teaches you how to remove unnecessary or unused files from your Google Drive when you’re using a computer.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

1
Navigate to https://drive.google.com/#quota in a web browser. This displays a list of all files in your Google Drive in order of size. The largest file appears at the top of the list, while the smallest is at the bottom.
- If you don’t see a list of your files, click Go to Google Drive to do so now.
2
Select a file you want to delete. To select multiple files, hold ⌘ Command (macOS) or Ctrl (Windows) as you click each file.
- If you don’t see anything you can delete, try another method.
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It’s in the left column.
A list of all deleted files will appear.
5
Select the file(s) you just moved. Again, you can select multiple files at once if you wish.
- To delete everything in the trash, see Emptying the Trash.
It’s near the top-right corner of the screen. A confirmation message will appear.
The selected file(s) are now removed from your Google Drive. It may take 24 hours for your available space to update after deleting files.^{[1]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

1
Go to https://drive.google.com in a web browser. If you’re not already signed in to your account, click Go to Google Drive to do so now.
- Deleting files from Google Drive doesn’t actually clear up space until you also delete said files from the Trash folder. This method will teach you how.
It’s in the left column. When you delete files from your Google Drive, they are moved to this folder just in case you need to restore them. Items in the trash count against your Drive space.^{[2]
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If you see a file you don’t want to lose, click it once, then click the Restore icon (the clock inside a curved arrow) at the top-right corner of the screen. If not, move to the next step.
It’s above the file list toward the left side of the screen.
A confirmation message will appear, warning you that you won’t be able to undo this action.
The files in the Trash folder will be deleted from the server, freeing up space for new content.

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Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

1
Go to https://photos.google.com/settings in a web browser. If you’re not already signed in to your Google account, follow the on-screen prompts to sign in now.
- If your photos back up to Google Photos at their original (highest) quality, they count against your total Google Drive space. This method teaches you how to switch your photo backups from full resolution to “High quality,” which still provides great quality at a smaller file size.^{[3]
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2
Select High quality (free unlimited storage). It’s the first option on the screen.
- If this option was already selected, there’s no reason to change anything.
3
Click RECOVER STORAGE. It’s at the bottom of the first section. A pop-up message will display how much space you can recover by switching your photo quality.
- If you uploaded any photos to Google Drive without using Google Photos, those files will not be altered.
- This will also compress photos uploaded to other Google products like Blogger, Picasa, and Google+.
Google Photos will now reduce the quality of your photos. For most people this will not be noticeable. Once the process is complete, your reclaimed Drive space will be ready to use.

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Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Go to https://drive.google.com in a web browser. If you’re not already signed in to your account, click Go to Google Drive to do so now.
It’s at the top-right corner of your Drive.
It’s on the left side of the Settings window.
5
Click Options next to any app that says “Hidden app data.” If an app contains hidden data that’s taking up space, the amount of data appears beneath the app’s description.
- The amount of hidden data (e.g. 2 MB) is the amount of space you’ll free up if you delete it.
A confirmation message will appear.
You can repeat this method for any other apps that report hidden data.
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