Google may soon change one of its longest-standing user benefits by reducing the free cloud storage for some new accounts from 15GB to just 5GB. Reports coming this week suggest that the company is testing a new signup policy tied to phone number verification.
For years, every Google account automatically came with 15Gb of free storage shared across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos. However , screenshots shared online, and showcases by multiple publications show that some of the users are now being offered only 5Gb unles they add and verify a phone number during the account creation.
The updated signup prompt reportedly gives users two choices to continue with 5Gb storage or unlock the full 15 GB at no cost by linking their phone number. Google is said to be using phone verification to make sure that the free storage benefit is claimed only once per individual.
Another sign of the policy shift is a subtle wording change on the support pages of Google. Earlier, the company stated that every account “comes with 15GB” of free storage. The language now reportedly says users can get “up to 15GB” free storage instead.
At the moment, the reported change appears to only affect the newly created accounts, while the existing users are unlikely to lose any storage immediately. Google has also not officially confirmed whether the test will become a permanent global rollout.
The move could help Google reduce the number of spam accounts, fake signups and storage abuse, but it has also raised privacy concerts amongs the users who prefer not to share their phone numbers.If fully implemented, the change would bring Google closer to its competitors like Apple, which currently offers 5Gb of free iCloud storage.
