Google Drive offers a generous 15GB of free storage, but this can fill up quickly if you store photos, videos, documents, and emails. If you’re tired of running out of space but don’t want to pay for extra storage, this article will show you how to increase your Google Drive storage for free using multiple accounts. The best part? You’ll be able to manage all your storage from one primary account!
What You Will Need:
- Multiple Google accounts (The more you create, the more storage you get!)
- A primary Google account (where all storage will be managed)
- Basic knowledge of Google Drive’s folder-sharing feature
Step 1: Create Additional Google Accounts
To begin, you’ll need to create multiple Google accounts. Each new account will come with its own 15GB of free storage. Here’s the general idea:
- For 60GB of storage, create 4 accounts.
- For 120GB, create 8 accounts.
- For 150GB, create 10 accounts.
The process of setting up these accounts is simple—just follow the usual steps for creating a new Gmail account.
Step 2: Create a Folder in Each New Google Account
Once you have your additional Google accounts set up, sign in to each one and follow these steps:
- Create a new folder by clicking on the “New” button in Google Drive.
- Name the folder something descriptive, like “Account 1” (you can also note how much storage is available within the folder name, like “Account 1 – 14GB”).
Repeat this for each new account you created, naming the folders accordingly.
Step 3: Share the Folders with Your Primary Google Account
Now comes the key part: sharing the folders with your primary account. Here’s how:
- Right-click on the folder you just created.
- Click on “Share.”
- In the “Share with people and groups” field, enter the email address of your primary Google account.
- Make sure the permission is set to “Editor” so that you can manage the folder and use its storage.
- Click “Send.”
Repeat this for each additional Google account’s folder.
Step 4: Access Shared Folders from Your Primary Google Account
Once you’ve shared all the folders with your primary account, log into your primary Google Drive account. You’ll now see all the shared folders listed under the “Shared with me” section in Google Drive.
Step 5: Use the Extra Storage
Now, here’s the best part: you can start using the storage from these additional accounts directly through your primary account. For example:
- If your primary account has 15GB of space and you have 4 other accounts with around 14GB of free space each, you’ll now have over 60GB of storage.
- When you upload files into the shared folders, the storage usage won’t count toward your primary account’s 15GB limit. The files are stored in the additional accounts’ folders, which have their own separate space.
You can upload photos, videos, and documents into the shared folders and your primary Google account’s storage won’t increase. Your storage is effectively expanded without paying a cent.
Example: Uploading a Video
Here’s a quick example to show how this works:
- Upload a video or any file to one of the shared folders.
- After uploading, check your primary account’s storage usage.
- You’ll notice that the storage usage hasn’t changed because the file is stored in one of the additional accounts’ folders, not your primary account.
Step 6: Continue Expanding Your Storage
If you need even more storage, just repeat the process:
- Create additional Google accounts.
- Create folders in those accounts.
- Share those folders with your primary account.
- You can keep expanding your storage by creating as many Google accounts as needed!
For example:
- 60GB requires 4 accounts.
- 120GB requires 8 accounts.
- 150GB or more requires 9 or 10 accounts.
Once set up, you won’t need to keep creating accounts. You’ll have access to the extra storage indefinitely, all organized under your primary Google account.
Why This Method Works:
This method takes advantage of Google’s folder-sharing feature, which allows multiple users to share folders with each other while maintaining individual storage quotas. By creating separate accounts and sharing their folders with your primary account, you’re able to access and use the additional storage without the hassle of switching accounts.
Final Thoughts:
Using multiple Google accounts to expand your Google Drive storage is a simple, free way to get more space for your files. Whether you need 60GB, 120GB, or even 150GB, this trick lets you bypass Google’s paid storage plans while keeping everything organized in one account.
This method works as long as you set it up once. After that, managing your storage will be as easy as clicking through your shared folders!
