Important News for Google Drive Users:
Now you can scan your Google Drive on web and remove duplicate files (without having to download any file!) to free up space. Our company has launched the Cloud Duplicate Finder service which uses official API from Google Drive. The CDF works with 256-bit encryption and never stores your files and passwords. Create an account without a credit card and run an online scan to clean up your Google Drive cloud.
Watch the video to understand how the cloud-based service, CDF, works:
We all have started to heavily rely on cloud storage nowadays, as it promises to be the prime storage medium of the future. Since Internet speeds have skyrocketed in the past decade or so, it is just so easy for anyone to just snap a selfie and upload it to cloud within moments. Also, cloud storage is being heavily used as a backup option by users across the world to save their previous data in case the HD on their computer/ laptop dies down or a virus makes an easy job of it.
But these drives also have limitations and not everyone can afford a paid version. So let’s just look at ways in which you can make the most of your free cloud storage allocation for Google Drive.
Hold your horses folks. Let’s first look at how you can make sure you optimize your Google Drive space utilization. This can be achieved by looking for and getting rid of duplicates. There might well be an astonishing number of duplicate files stashed in your Google Drive, so get into action and delete them using the Cloud Duplicate Finder web-application.
Increase Google Drive Space without Upgrading
There are several hacks that can result in getting more space as well as optimizing the current space allocation offered by Google Drive. But before we get to those, don’t forget to actually check how much storage space you’re currently utilizing. You can do so by going to the Drive storage page.
Now let’s get to business right away.
- Convert Documents to Drive‘s Format
This is a huge one! Users who either convert their files to/ or create a file in Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Forms, Google Drawings, Google My Maps and Google Sites will be delighted to know that none of these files actually count towards your Google Drive storage limit. This means that you can create as many Google Docs files, for instance, in your GDrive account and the space they occupy won’t count towards your limit! Simply right-click any of the files (highlighted in the screenshot above) and select View details. You will notice a menu pop from the right on the screen. Select the Details tab in it and you will notice 0 bytes and Google Docs files are free in front of the Storage used section.
You can choose to have any word processor file converted automatically to Google Docs format a soon as you upload it to Google Drive. Simply click the cog icon and click Settings. Now simply select the checkmark for Convert uploaded files to Google Docs editor format and click DONE.
Opting to convert word processor uploads to Google Docs automatically
- Upload Photos in High Quality
Google encourages users to upload photos in high quality by not including them in the space allocation! That’s right you can upload an unlimited number of high-quality images and they won’t count even a bit towards your account’s storage limit. Whenever you’re uploading any images to Google Photos, simply select the High-quality option.
Selecting to upload images in High quality
- Use Play Music
Google Play Music app allows you to add upto 50,000 tracks to it for free. So if you are trying to upload an audio file to Google Drive, here is a neat hack which ensures any audio file won’t count towards your account’s storage quota.
- Wait for Google Drive Giveaway and Promotions
You can get free giveaways from Google Drive from time to time, especially on big occasions. For example, Google gave a free 2GB of drive space to users who improved the security of their Google accounts in 2016.
- Purchase Certain Devices
Google offers free GDrive storage on the purchase of various devices. For example, it is offering 100GB on buying a chromebook and an equal amount of storage space if you purchase an Asus drive. However, both of these offers are valid for 2 years from the date of purchase.
- Contribute to Google Maps
Google rewards those users who help improve the accuracy of Google Maps. Simply sign up for the Local Guides program and from then onwards, every single edit will fetch the user a single point. As they reach Level 4 (200-499 points) they get a free 1TB upgrade to their Google Drive account. Is this even real?
- Sweep Clean any Duplicates in Google Drive
You can also free up space in Google Drive. This helps kill away any duplicates that might have been mistakenly created on your laptop, got synced to Google Drive and now they’re sitting there for no good and eating up precious space. You can delete them by manually checking each file/ using a duplicate file finding software.
CFC Google Drive scan feature
Manually scanning for duplicates is certainly an option, but it simply isn’t practical when you’re dealing with tons of files and need to open each and every single file to examine its contents! Just imagine the time and effort this exercise requires and you’ll surely want to look for an automated solution that does it all while you’re sipping a cup of tea. 🙂
- Download and install Clone Files Checker on your PC.
- Once the installation is over, launch it and select the Cloud Scan tab.
- Spot the greenish Load Drive button and click it.
- Enter your Google account credentials, click Sign in and authorize CFC to access your data by clicking Allow.
- Now you’ll notice your Google Drive folders populate the area right where the Load Drive button was earlier located. Select as many folders as you want and click Start Scan. (The scan is usually over very fast, nevertheless, it isn’t a rough deal even if you have to wait for a while when you’re fixing a big mess from your Google Drive).
- Once the scan is over, you’ll (probably) see a slew of files listed out in CFC user interface. Click Select Duplicates to select which kind of files you want to retain.
- The last step is to click Select Action and decide whether you want to delete the duplicates or move them to a folder.
Final Word
These are a handful of ways to beef up your Google Drive storage without giving away a single dime. If you are low on storage, these tips you can help you out without you having to use any plastic money. Cheers.
