Google offers users a limited 15GB of free cloud storage, which includes emails, attachments, photos, documents, and WhatsApp backups. Once the 15GB quota is reached, Gmail stops receiving mail. To clear storage, users can find and delete large emails. By searching for size:5mb in the search bar, users can identify large emails, sort them by size, select and delete them. Additional tips include emptying the trash and using advanced search operators. Deleting emails permanently removes them and affects other Google services using the same storage.
Google
offers limited 15GB of free cloud storage to users. This free data is counted against almost everything including mails, attachments, photos, documents and now even WhatsApp backup will be counted against it.
That said, once the 15GB data quota is over,
Gmail
stops receiving mail and messages. And this is where clearing the storage becomes important for users.
Now, most of the data, when it comes to mails, is consumed by attachments and you can clear most of them at once and free up significant space quickly.
Here’s how you can find and delete the largest emails in Gmail.
Find and identify large emails
Search for large emails first
In the Gmail search bar, type size:5mb (or any desired size) and press Enter. This will display emails that are equal to or larger than the specified size.
Sort emails by size:
Click on the "Sort by" option (usually represented by a downward-facing arrow) at the right of the search bar.
Choose "Size" to sort emails by size, with the largest ones appearing first.
Delete large emails
Select emails:
Click on the checkbox next to the emails you want to delete. Use the "Select All" option at the top to select all emails on the current page.
Delete emails
Once selected, click on the "Delete" button (trash can icon) to remove the selected emails.
Additional tips
Empty trash:
After deleting emails, make sure to also empty the Trash to free up space permanently.
Use Advanced search:
Refine your search using Gmail's advanced search operators. For example, you can combine operators like larger:5mb with other criteria.
Example: larger:5mb label:inbox is:unread
Increase size threshold:
Adjust the size threshold in your search to include larger or smaller emails based on your needs.
Remember that deleting emails permanently removes them from your Gmail account, so ensure you want to remove them before proceeding. Additionally, Gmail's storage is shared with other Google services, so freeing up space in Gmail also affects other Google services using the same storage.
FAQs
To quickly clean up thousands of emails in Gmail on the web:
- Open your inbox and type 'older_than:x days' in the search bar (replace 'x' with the number of days).
- Click the checkbox on the top-left to select all emails on the page.
- Click the 'Trash' icon to delete emails that were selected.
Delete files by size in Gmail
- Log into your Gmail account.
- Type has:attachment larger:10MB into the search bar and hit Search. ...
- Check the boxes to the left of each email you want to delete, then click the Trash icon across the top of your screen. ...
- Click Trash on the left side of the screento go to the Trash menu.
Delete all messages in a category
- On your computer, go to Gmail.
- On the left, select your inbox, label, or another category.
- At the top left, above your messages, check the Select box. A notification that shows the number of selected conversations is displayed. ...
- At the top, click Delete .
Delete multiple messages quickly
- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Gmail app .
- On the left of a message, tap the sender's profile image.
- At the top left, tap the box next to "Select all." To select more messages, scroll down, then tap the box next to "Select all" again.
- At the top, tap Delete .
Select all the emails based on a specific date range for deleting these emails. Select these emails by clicking on the box at the top-left corner of your Email. Now, click the text and select all conversations that match the search result. Click on the trash icon to delete all these emails.
How do I free up space in Gmail? ›
3 Free up space in Gmail
- Find emails that you can delete using Gmail search . For example: ...
- Select the emails that you want to delete and click Delete .
- Click Trash and confirm that you want to delete the emails. ...
- Click Empty Trash now.
Remove large attachments
On your Gmail search field, on the right side, there is a button called “Show search option”. Click on this and in the advanced search parameter list that shows up, select “Size”, “greater than” and “your MB limit”. You can choose to search for any file size in the advanced search panel.
How do I delete unnecessary emails? ›
Delete unnecessary emails:
- Select emails: Check the boxes next to the emails you want to delete.
- Click the trash icon: Click the trash can icon at the top of your inbox to remove them.
How To Search Gmail for Large Files
- Log into your Gmail account and open your inbox.
- Navigate to the Search Mail bar and input size:[file size]. ...
- Alternatively, to search within a file size range, type in the following format in the search bar: larger_than:XMB smaller_than:YMB. ...
- Press Enter .
Use Gmail's "Select All" feature to select all emails in a tab, then click on "Delete" (the trash can icon) for a speedy cleanup. Please note that Gmail allows you to select up to 50 emails at a time, so the process can get slightly manual. To make it faster, you may want to use filters in Gmail instead.
Gmail offers built-in tools to clean up Gmail, but their functionality is limited. In this article, we'll delve into third-party Gmail cleanup tools that offer more advanced features and facilitate easier email management.
How do I delete all emails older than 6 months in Gmail? ›
How do I mass delete old emails in Gmail? To mass delete old emails in Gmail, first log into your email account. Then, in the search bar, type the query 'older_than:1y' (you can change '1y' to any other time period that suits your needs). After hitting Enter, Gmail will display all the messages matching this criteria.
Is there a way to delete large amounts of emails in Gmail? ›
How to mass delete emails on Gmail
- Log in to your Gmail account.
- Check the box at the top of your inbox, to the left of the refresh button. ...
- Click the blue text that reads Select all X conversations in Primary.
- Click the delete button, which looks like a trash can.
How to delete your Gmail account
- Go to your Google Account.
- On the left, click “Data & privacy.”
- Scroll to "Data from apps and services you use."
- Under "Download or delete your data," click Delete a Google service.
- Enter your password.
- Next to "Gmail," click the trash can button.
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How do you mass delete all the emails in a folder in Gmail? ›
How to Mass Delete All the Emails in a Folder in Gmail
- Click on the folder / label you want to empty. ...
- Click on the “Select All” checkbox. ...
- Click on the “Select all conversations in folder” link. ...
- Click on the “Delete” icon. ...
- Click “o*k” in the “Confirm bulk action” dialog. ...
- Open the “Trash” folder. ...
- Empty the Trash folder.
Log in to your Gmail account on a computer. In the search box at the top of the page, type "size: " (without the quotes) followed by a size in bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, or gigabytes. For example, to find all emails that are larger than 10 MB, type "size:10MB" (without the quotes) into the search box.
How do I delete older emails in Gmail automatically? ›
How To Automatically Delete Old Emails In Gmail
- Open your Gmail account using the web browser.
- Click the Settings gear icon and select the See all settings option.
- Go to the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab.
- Click Create a new filter.
- Enter older_than:1y (or older_than:90d, etc.) ...
- Click Create Filter to confirm.
Can you unsubscribe from multiple emails at once Gmail? No, Gmail does not have a built-in feature to mass unsubscribe Gmail subscriptions at once. To mass unsubscribe from Gmail, you need a Gmail unsubscriber app like Clean Email.
