No 15GB free storage in Gmail for you if you do not link phone number with your account: Google

Google appears to have changed how much free cloud storage new users get with a Google account. The company is no longer automatically offering 15GB of storage in every case. Instead, some users are now reportedly seeing only 5GB of free storage during account setup, with the option to unlock the full 15GB by linking a phone number to the account.

The change was first reported by users during the setup process of a new Google account. According to a Reddit user, Google now shows a message during account creation that says: “Your account includes 5 GB of storage. Now get even more storage space with your phone number for Google Photos, Drive, and Gmail.” Users are then given two options — “Unlock 15 GB storage at no cost by using your phone number” or “Keep 5 GB storage.”

For years, Google has offered 15GB of free storage by default with every Google account. The storage pool is shared across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos. However the change suggests that the full 15GB benefit may now be tied, at least in some situations, to phone number verification.

The setup notice also reportedly stated that Google would use the phone number “to make sure storage is added only once per person”. It linked to a support page about Google Account storage management policy, although the report said the link was broken at the time it was accessed.

Alongside the setup changes, Google has also reportedly, quietly updated the wording on some of its support pages. Earlier, one support document stated: “Your Google Account comes with 15 GB of cloud storage at no charge.” That language has now changed to say users get “up to 15 GB of cloud storage at no charge”.

The same wording, as first reported by 9to5Google, now appears on another Google support page explaining how Google storage works.

As of now, Google has not publicly announced a broader policy change around free storage allocation. And it also does not clearly state outside the account creation process that linking a phone number may be required to access the full 15GB of storage. However, in a statement to Android Authority, the company has noted: 'We’re testing a new storage policy for new accounts created in select regions that will help us continue to provide a high-quality storage service to our users, while encouraging users to improve their account security and data recovery.'

At the same time, phone verification is already required in many cases while creating a new Google account. Reports suggest that during tests on desktop and mobile, account creation often could not proceed without verifying a phone number. However, there are still some situations where users may be able to create an account without one, including when setting up a new Android phone without a SIM card inserted.