It’s official – cloud storage supplier Google Drive has determined so as to add an official cap on the quantity of recordsdata that may be saved on a single account.

Per Ars Technica (opens in new tab), the restrict, set at 5 million recordsdata, began cropping up for some Google Drive customers in February 2023, regardless of Google providing no warning that the cap was being launched, and providing a notification that wasn’t all that clear at explaining what the issue was: “The restrict for the variety of gadgets, whether or not trashed or not, created by this account has been exceeded.”

Stated notification has advanced since then, and now reportedly reads: “Error 403: This account has exceeded the creation restrict of 5 million gadgets. To create extra gadgets, transfer gadgets to the trash and delete them without end.”

Google Drive file cap

As of final week, the notification for one Reddit consumer (opens in new tab) learn “Please delete 2 million recordsdata to proceed utilizing your Google Drive account.”

The brand new coverage (which stays undocumented throughout all pricing pages) means Google Drive clients are being prevented from accessing the complete extent of the storage they’ve paid for. Nonetheless, it’s price noting that 5 million recordsdata, in actual phrases, is a fairly large allowance.

For Google Drive’s 2TB providing – the best private plan accessible – the common file measurement throughout an account must be 400 kilobytes (KB). There are definitely situations the place which may be the case – the storage of enormous quantities of document information, for instance. However within the overwhelming majority of instances, customers shouldn’t run up in opposition to the restrict.

Enterprise customers are even much less prone to face points with the restrict. A spokesperson for Google informed Ars Technica that the restrict utilized to “what number of gadgets one consumer can create in any Drive,” relatively than a blanket cap.

Particulars have been skinny on the bottom, however in addition they famous that the brand new restrict is “a safeguard to forestall misuse of our system in a manner that may affect the steadiness and security of the system.” 

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