Before knowing how to delete files from Google drive, it is essential for us to know that this product is developed by Google, It is normally used as file storage and synchronization service. It was introduced on April 24, 2012. Google Drive lets the users store files in the cloud (Google servers), sync files between devices, and share files.
In addition to the web interface, Google Drive provides offline-enabled apps for Windows and macOS computers, Android and iOS smartphones, and tablets.
Google drive also contains services like Google Sheets, Google Docs, Google slides, etc. These are a part of the Google Docs Editors Office suite that allows people to edit documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, forms, and much more collaboratively. The files edited and created using the Google Docs suite are saved in Google Drive. It offers users free storage of 15 GB in total.
The process to delete files from Google Drive
Google Drive stores most of your Google Account data, so it’s easy to run out of space. Fortunately, deleting data and freeing up space is also easy. Here’s how.
If you use Google Drive to share large files, it’s very easy to hit the 15GB free data limit for your Google Account. You can upgrade your Google One account to get more storage space, but it’s best to delete some data first and free up Google Drive space manually.
Do not worry. You do not have to spend hours scouring every nook and cranny of Google Drive. The website has a storage management feature that lists all files sorted by size (heavy files are shown at the top).
For starters, in your browser, open the Google drive website. You’ll notice a “Storage” option at the bottom of the sidebar.
It will show you the amount of storage or space you have left in your account. Click on the “Storage” button.
Now you will notice a list of the large files in your account that are taking up space. All you need to do is click a file to select it ( In case you want to select multiple files hold the Command or Control key while selecting) and then click the remove button in the top toolbar which looks like a trashcan icon.
Google drive will then remove the file and send it to the trash instantly.
In case you want to find and open a folder to where a particular file is saved choose the “show file location” option by right-clicking. Now you can choose a number of files and use the remove icon in the toolbar to delete them all at once.
In case you do not have a backup of the file you want to delete then click on the download button in the right-click menu and you will get a downloaded copy of the file in your local storage.
But you will not recover any storage space by deleting your files like this. That is because Google Drive doesn’t really delete the files for 30 days. In case you change your mind you have 30 days to recover the data. In case you want to delete your files instantly and permanently, you will have to go to the trash or bin section in the sidebar.
There you will see a list of files yet to be deleted. To delete a file individually right click and choose the “delete forever” option. To delete all files at once click on “empty trash”.
Wrapping Up
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