By Devesh Beri
Publication Date: 2026-05-15 19:10:00
Google appears to be reducing the free cloud storage that new accounts get by default, with some new users now receiving only 5GB unless they add a phone number. Screenshots show that sign-ups in many regions now offer 5GB of free storage at first, down from the usual 15GB.
The sign-up interface prompts new users to add and verify a phone number to unlock the full 15GB at no cost. This could be a way to cut down on cloud storage costs associated with mass account creation… or it could be a way to incentivize users to share personal information they wouldn’t have otherwise given up.
Pre-existing accounts continue to offer 15GB. So far, Google hasn’t made any public statements about cutting new accounts down to 5GB of storage, which tells us this might be a test that will spread to other regions or sign-up methods in the future. That said, the folks at 9to5Google noticed that Google’s official documentation went from “Your Google Account comes with 15GB of cloud…