4 things that happen if you stop paying for Google One

One of the things I loathe about the current tech landscape is its cultivated dependence on subscription services. Cloud storage is the worst example — you might be upset if you need to cancel

Netflix
or

Spotify
for a few months to save cash, but when you cancel a storage service, you risk losing essential files, maybe even important memories in the form of photos and videos. I know I’d be upset if photos of my wife and son stopped syncing, or if I no longer had a backup to turn to if my iPhone is ever lost or stolen.

Google One
is of course a prime example of what I’m talking about, if not the main example, given how many people depend on related Google services like Gmail and Google Drive. Here’s what you need to know about the impact of canceling One, whether you’re doing it for budget reasons, switching platforms, or simply reducing your reliance on subscriptions.

1

You can’t upload any new files beyond 15GB

Excess files won’t vanish right away

This is the big one, since most other Google One benefits are incidental. If you’re over the 15GB of storage that’s free with every Google account, you (and anyone you’re sharing with) won’t be able to upload any more files to Google Drive, and automatic uploads to Google Photos will cease. That second point is especially important if you own an Android phone, since it’s the integrated way of backing up all the photos and videos you shoot. If you switch to another phone, you risk losing everything you’ve shot after canceling — unless you first copy the media to external storage that is, or enable a third-party backup service such as Dropbox or Microsoft OneDrive.

The good news here is that if you can get your Google account back under 15GB, uploads will resume, so it may be worth purging duplicate or otherwise unnecessary content you’ve accumulated over the years. You probably don’t need five-year-old screenshots, for example, or those old 720p rips of the Rocky movies you’ve got sitting around. Be careful — you don’t want to find out the hard way that a folder or ZIP file you’ve deleted contained something like tax documents or scanned family photos.

If you can’t get things back under 15GB, Google says it will hold onto your data for “at least” two years. You’ll still be able to download things during that period, which should be plenty of time to transition to other backup methods.

Related

5 apps I use to back up my photos for peace of mind

Free up your storage and protect your memories.

2

Gmail may no longer work

The specter of the 15GB cap returns

Stephen Phillips / Unsplash

Because your Gmail inbox counts towards your Google account’s storage limit, and vice versa, you won’t be able to send or receive messages if you were over 15GB before One was canceled. Any new incoming messages will be bounced back to their senders.

The gist is that if you depend on your current Gmail address to communicate, you’ll need to get your Google account back under 15GB at all costs. The most efficient way typically involves scouring Google Drive and Google Photos, but it can’t hurt to purge unnecessary emails you’ve kept too, particularly if they have large attachments. Some people choose to migrate old emails over to a secondary Google account (see below). This is a little complicated, and makes those messages harder to access, but can potentially get you gigabytes of data back.

You might also consider creating a new primary Gmail address, but that’s usually a poor solution. For one, it’ll be tied to a new Google account, isolating it from services signed in to your previous account. You’ll additionally have to update your contact info around the web, and notify friends, family, and employers that you’ve switched over.

Related

How to get 15GB of Gmail storage completely for free

You’ll get to keep your existing email address, but there are a few hoops to jump through.

3

You’ll lose access to family sharing, Gemini Advanced, and other perks

Sharing may be your biggest concern

Google

Google includes extra perks at One’s higher subscription tiers, such as Google Store discounts, family sharing, and unlimited Magic Editor saves in Google Photos. Of those, family sharing is probably the most critical — your partner and/or child will lose access to their extra storage, potentially creating the same problems with Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos I mentioned a moment ago. There will also be issues with other apps, as I explain in the next section. Make sure each person is under 15GB or has an alternative solution before you cancel.

Premium subscribers will lose access to some Workspace benefits, namely expanded features in Google Meet and Google Calendar. Canceling the top tier, AI Premium, will remove your access to Gemini Advanced, as well as

NotebookLM Plus
, and general Gemini integration with Gmail, Meet, Google Docs, and Google Slides. That could create serious disruptions to your workflow — something Google’s counting on to keep you paying.

Related

4 of my favorite hidden Google Gemini AI features you should be using

If you’re just asking Gemini the occasional random question, you’re missing out on its potential.

4

You won’t be able to create or edit documents in Google’s productivity apps

Read-only access will be still be there

Google / Pocket-lint

You guessed it — since all of Google’s productivity apps are linked to your Google account, they count towards your storage limit. That means that if you’re over the 15GB the company provides without One, you won’t be able to create new documents, or even copy or edit them. You might think editing would be allowed as long as filesizes remained static, but for whatever reason, that’s not the case.

The affected apps include Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides, as well as two lesser-known tools, Google Drawings and Google Forms. You should still be able to view and share any documents you’ve saved, although it’s important to remember that two-year archival window for accounts over their storage limit. If you don’t export your documents, renew your One subscription, or get your storage back under 15GB, your files may vanish forever. Don’t leave things like your resume or contact lists in a single location.

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