Google Workspace storage policy FAQ

In 2021, Google announced that they will end the current availability of unlimited storage for educational institutions using Google Workspace. In response, TMU has worked with Google to analyse our current storage usage and to develop strategies and limits that both reduce the university’s storage usage, while also allowing most people to continue to study and work with minimal disruptions.

Storage limits on Google Workspace accounts will be implemented based on an individual’s account type or role at the university. To determine your new combined Gmail and Google Drive storage limit, consult the table below.

*With the implementation of storage quotas, we’re changing who can create Google shared drives at TMU. Learn more by visiting the Google shared drive page on our website.

One terabyte (1 TB) is 1,000 gigabytes (1,000 GB), which roughly provides enough storage for:

• 250,000 photos taken with a 12MP camera;
• 250 movies or 500 hours of HD video; or 
• 6.5 million document pages, commonly stored as Office files, PDFs, and presentations. It’s also equal to 1,300 physical filing cabinets of paper!

Following Google’s announcement, TMU worked with Google to analyze our current storage usage and develop quotas that both reduce the university’s storage use, while also limiting the impact on those currently learning, teaching or working at the university. 

When the university was provided unlimited storage by Google, we were pleased to extend this option to alumni. However, following the announcement of new storage costs from Google and the fact that our alumni population grows annually, we are no longer able to offer unlimited storage to alumni. The new 30 GB storage continues to allow us to provide alumni unlimited Gmail usage for life, while also prioritizing storage for those learning, teaching or working at TMU.

With the new storage limit, alumni still receive double the amount of storage available to free consumer Google Workspace accounts (15 GB) outside of TMU.

Generic, guest or contractor accounts will be limited to 250 GB as of October 9, 2023. Current storage usage by generic, guest and contractor accounts average between 3 - 30 GB, with less than 0.6% of these counts currently exceeding the new 250 GB storage limit. Sponsors of impacted accounts will be contacted directly by CCS to discuss strategies for reducing their storage usage.

Following the implementation of the new storage quotas, individuals over their storage limit will be unable to:

• Upload new files or images to Google Drive;
• Create new files in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms and Jamboard;
• Edit or copy files in Google Drive or submit Google Forms; and
• Record new meetings in Google Meet.

Individuals over their storage limit will still be able to sign into their Google Workspace account to view and download files and send and receive emails in Gmail. At this time, CCS will not delete any files from Google Drive in the event an individual is over their storage limit.

*Instructors who also have student or staff roles will have their new storage quota come into effect on February 19, 2024.

To determine your current storage usage, visit Google Drive’s drive storage page (external link) . Alternatively, you can: 

1. Open Google Drive in your browser and click Settings
2. Your storage usage will automatically be displayed broken down by Google Drive and Gmail

To view all your files sorted by size, visit Google Drive’s quota page (external link) .

The following count towards your current Google Workspace storage usage:

• Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms and Jamboard files;
• Emails and attachments in Gmail; and
• Files saved to Google Drive that are not in a Google format, including PDFs, Microsoft Office files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), images and videos.

Google Docs, Sheets, Drawings, Forms or Jamboard files created after June 1, 2021 count towards your Google Workspace storage usage. Files created before June 1, 2021 do not count towards your storage unless they have been modified on or after that date. Files in Google shared drives do not count towards your personal storage quota.

If your personal TMU Google account is near or in excess of your new storage limit, we recommend that you:

• Use Google Drive’s advanced search function (external link)  to identify files that can be deleted or moved.
  • For example, use the advanced search function to find duplicate files by searching for file names that include “copy of”.
  • If you no longer require a file and there’s no record retention policy reason to keep it, we recommend deleting the file.
• Identify your largest files on Google Drive (external link)  and delete them, transfer them to another Google account or move them to a cloud-based storage solution or to removable storage.
• Use Google Drive’s version control features to manage your files and data.
  • When editing a Google Doc, Sheet or Slides, compare earlier versions of the file (external link)  rather than create a new version.
  • If you upload a file when one exists with the same name, Google Drive will automatically upload the file as a revision of your existing file.
  • Save and download old copies of PDFs, images and other files (external link)  from Google Drive in one file.
• If you have large personal media files saved, move them off of Google Drive. If you are a faculty or staff member, you should consider moving work-related media files to a departmental shared drive to reduce your individual storage usage.
• When uploading a Microsoft Office file to Google Drive, convert the file to a Google format (external link) . 
• Use Gmail’s advanced search function to find and bulk delete emails. This can be accomplished by entering your search criteria into Gmail’s search bar (external link)  or by using search operators (external link) .
• Download emails (external link)  from Gmail in .eml format (please see the note below with guidance on when emails should not be downloaded).
• Download files and folders (external link)  from Google Drive.

Note: Some files shared with you may contain private or confidential information. Downloading or transferring files with sensitive or confidential information may contravene university policies and guidelines, including the Information Protection Policy and Information Classification Standard and Handling Guidelines.

Yes. Google Takeout (external link)  allows you to download files and data from Google Workspace (external link)  or transfer them to another Google account (external link) .

CCS is currently exploring additional paid storage options with Google that departments at TMU may consider if they require additional Google Workspace storage. Information about paid storage options will be communicated in the coming months.