Google Cloud Storage Restrictions Extended For Docs And Friends

Google's generous unlimited storage offers were admittedly too good to last. Whether or not some people took advantage of that, it was only a matter of time before it became unsustainable, at least as a business. Late last year, Google announced a couple of changes to its formerly unlimited options for Workspace and Google Photos users. It is now announcing an extension of that deadline as a way to give administrators, businesses, and users more time to prepare for the inevitable.

To be clear, nothing changes for Google Photos. Come June 1, 2021, all new high-quality photos will count towards Google Drive storage quotas. This may have been the most contentious part of Google's announcement but it isn't backing down even a bit.

In contrast, the deadline for Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Drawings, and Jamboard is being pushed to February 1, 2022, instead of the earlier June date. That gives an 8-month extension before new files start to count towards quotas as well. As before, existing files won't be counted unless they get modified after that date.

Google's sudden move last year was met with negative feedback, especially as it comes at a time when more and more people have become reliant on cloud storage services to get stuff done. Then again, that's exactly Google's reason for putting caps on its pooled storage policies for Workspace and G Suite customers. As millions of GB of data are uploaded every day, it no longer becomes financially feasible to keep offering users unlimited storage.

Google's extension of the deadline is also due to a new tool that it is developing to help admins get more insight into how their storage space is being used. Until that tool becomes available, Google has decided to delay the policy change, giving users a few more months to take advantage of that soon-to-be limited unlimited storage.