How I freed up 4GB of storage to avoid paying for Google One

I’ve been cruising in Google’s free storage tier for as long as I can remember, backing up my Photos, emails, and even WhatsApp messages without ever spending a penny. But over the past few months, I’ve been creeping up to the 15GB cap (17GB in my case, as an old-timer who jumped through Google’s security hoops), leading to a barrage of Google One notifications urging me to upgrade to a paid storage tier.

That’s never going to happen. The economics of starting out at just $1.99 a month for 100GB might not sound like much, but I know it won’t be many more years before I hit that limit, too. Then I’d be hooked: forking out $4.99 and then $9.99 every month, in perpetuity, for the luxury of having Google back up my odds and ends. Granted, Google One might be worth the cost if you want Gemini in your docs and double AI usage without forking out for yet another monthly plan. But for me, I’m happy just…