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Read time 9 minutes

Summary: Gmail, the world’s most popular email service, faces storage issues with its 15GB limit. To tackle this, users must analyze their storage usage, delete unnecessary data, and consider methods like migrating emails to another account or archiving using Google Takeout. Alternatively, Kernel Gmail Backup offers a reliable solution for safeguarding Gmail data.

Gmail stands as the world’s leading email service, boasting a colossal user base of more than 1.5 billion individuals across the globe. Nonetheless, even this titan of email is not impervious to its own array of challenges. Google generously allots 15 GB of storage to each of its users, a repository for all data pertaining to the Google account, encompassing Gmail, Photos, Slides, Docs, Sheets, and Drive. The utilization of this storage space is ultimately contingent upon the preferences and practices of individual users.

For individuals who actively rely on a multitude of service applications, the 15GB storage allocation can quickly become insufficient. Once this limit is surpassed, an error message will appear, indicating “Gmail Quota Exceeded,” rendering you incapable of sending or receiving emails. This inevitably disrupts seamless communication and can hinder productivity. Consequently, effective Gmail storage management is paramount. In the following discussion, we will explore various strategies to help you optimize your Gmail storage.

Analyzing the Storage Space

In order to effectively manage your Gmail account storage, it’s crucial to begin by gaining a comprehensive understanding of the current allocation of storage space. This allocation is distributed among various Google services, including Gmail, Google Photos, and Google Drive. To perform a detailed analysis of your Gmail storage, please follow these steps:

  • Go to the Drive storage page and select “View details.” You’ll be able to see the total storage and the used storage of your Gmail Account like this:Drive storage pageNow, you know which service is using the larger part of the storage. So, you can easily free space from that service.
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Instant Solution

Download Kernel Gmail Backup tool to backup Gmail account emails to Outlook PST and other file formats to resolve your “Gmail is out of space issue” easily.

Solution to Resolve “Gmail is Out of Space” Issue

On June 1, 2021, Google implemented a significant modification to its storage policy concerning Google Photos. Consequently, any new data will now share the same 15 GB storage allocation originally designated for all applications within the associated Google account. This adjustment will also impact Gmail, resulting in potential storage challenges and error messages as previously indicated.

  1. Delete Unnecessary Mails, Files, and Attachments
    The most straightforward approach to reclaiming space in your Gmail account involves eliminating superfluous emails, photos, and attachments. If you’re using the Gmail mobile app, be aware that Google Photos may have automatically synced all your images and videos. Therefore, it’s essential to cull any unneeded visuals from Google Photos to free up space. Before doing so, remember to create a backup of your photos.
    Access Google Drive on your computer to review the files listed and gradually eliminate any unwanted ones. Additionally, within your Gmail account, focus on deleting the largest or oldest email files. To identify these, employ specific search parameters such as “Larger:5m” and “Older_than:1y” in the search bar, and subsequently delete those files.
    After successfully removing all unnecessary files, proceed to the “Trash” folder and permanently delete all the contents to resolve the “Gmail Quota Exceeded” issue.
  2. Use Gmail to Gmail Migration Method
    If you consider all of your Gmail messages to be vital and wish to safeguard them from any potential loss, you have the option to seamlessly transfer them to another Gmail account at no cost. This newly designated account will serve as your secondary repository, allowing you to organize and manage your data as needed. To initiate the process of migrating emails from one Gmail account to another, follow these simple steps.
    • Create a new Gmail account.
    • Now, go to the settings of the old Gmail account from which you want to migrate emails.
    • Now, click on “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” from the upper menu and enable POP for all mail, and choose “delete Gmail’s copy” from the drop-down menu like this;click on Forwarding and POP/IMAP
    • Now, open the new Gmail account and go to settings. Select “Accounts and Import” from the upper menu. Click “Import mail and contacts” in the menu.Click import mail and contacts in menu
    • A pop-up window will appear on your screen. Enter the email from which you want to import the email files and click Continue.Enter email
    • After this, another window will open to ask for your permission. Click “Allow” and then choose the import options and click the “Start Import” button.Choose import option to import emails
    • Now, wait for Google to transfer all emails to your new account. Once the migration is done, you’ll be able to see all your email in the new account like this:Gmail email is transferredOne major issue with this method is that it can take days or sometimes even one week to transfer all emails to your new Gmail account.
  3. Delete Old Emails
    If your Gmail account is burdened with a surplus of aging emails hogging precious storage space, you can swiftly liberate that space by eliminating them. To declutter your Gmail inbox, simply access your account and navigate to the search bar situated at the page’s apex. In this search bar, input “before: YYYY/MM/DD” (omitting quotation marks) and hit Enter. This action will display all emails predating the date you specify. You can then efficiently weed out any emails that have outlived their usefulness. Should you inadvertently delete an essential message, fret not – it can be retrieved from the Trash folder within 30 days.
  4. Archiving Gmail emails using the Google Takeout feature
    To free up storage space in Gmail, users can utilize the built-in Google Takeout feature. Google Takeout serves as a data retrieval platform that consolidates all user data into a single, downloadable file. This file can be accessed and managed by the user at their convenience. Below, you will find the essential steps for using this feature:

    1. Go to this link Google Takeout and open it with your Gmail account sign-in credentials.
    2. Now click on the Deselect all option to deselect the default selected options for backup.Deselect all option
    3. Select the Mail checkbox and then click on the Next step.Select the Mail checkbox
    4. Choose the backup frequency in the next step.Choose the backup frequency
    5. Continue with selecting the desired file type and size of the emails for backup. After this click on Create export.select the desired file type
    6. The export process is now underway. Please be patient while it runs, as the duration will vary depending on the size of the emails within your Gmail account.export process
    7. Once the export is completed, the data is ready to download to the system drive location. Click on the Download link to download the data and save it to the desired system drive location from the Downloads folder.download the data and save itThis manual method is effective for taking Gmail backupmanually, but the only limitation is non-flexibility in specific data backup, i.e.,the absence of filter options.
  5. Kernel Gmail Backup
    If you’re seeking an effective and secure solution to address the “Gmail is out of space” issue, look no further than Kernel Gmail Backup is an alternative option for it. This tool provides a reliable alternative to the cumbersome and insecure manual methods. With Kernel Gmail Backup, you can effortlessly back up your Gmail emails and store them in your preferred output file format for convenient access whenever you need them. This software boasts a range of valuable features, including:

    • Backup of multiple Gmail mailboxes using CSV file
    • Multiple filtering options for requirements-based backup
    • Provision to migrate to mailboxes, archive mailboxes, and public folder
    • Backup in multiple file formats – PST, HTML, MHT, DOCX, DOC, PDF, EML, MSF
    • Incremental migration with the backup report once the process is over

Final Words

If you encounter the “Gmail is out of space” error message, several steps can help you address this issue. Start by ensuring that your account is free of unnecessary emails, photos, and files. Additionally, consider utilizing Kernel Gmail backup to generate a backup of your mailbox on your computer, thereby expanding your available storage. Should these measures prove ineffective, you may need to contemplate deleting older messages or upgrading to a premium account for enhanced storage capacity.

Kernel Gmail Backup