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If you use Google storage services (such as Google Drive, Google Photos, etc.) to back up your data to the cloud and you get the message “Storage full” despite the fact that you have deleted almost anything from the Google cloud, continue reading below to fix the problem.
Why do you keep getting the “Storage is full” message after deleting your photos, videos and files from the Google cloud services?
This issue usually occurs because an app on your mobile phone uses your Google Drive account to back up its data.
Google storage is basically used to store your Gmail messages, Google Drive files, and your photos and videos from your phone or tablet in Google Photos.
However, there are some mobile apps that also use Google Drive to store backups of their data, thus filling up space on Google Drive (e.g. Viber, etc.).
How to Effectively Free up Google Storage space.
Step 1. Delete Photos & Videos from Google Photos and Empty Trash.
Photos and videos backed up from your mobile phone to Google Photos are the main cause of the “Google storage is full” issue. So…
1. Open Photos 
on your mobile phone, or navigate to Google Photos from your computer, and delete the videos and the photos you don’t want.*
* Tips:
1. Because Videos are the main reason the space fills up, type “videos” in Search and press Enter (so that only videos appear) and then select the ones you want to delete.
2. If you view the files in Google Photos through your computer, you can, if you want, before deleting videos and photos, to keep a copy of them on your computer by downloading them. Alternatively, you can use the Google Takeout service to download all your Google Account data to your computer before deleting them.*
2. After deleting the items you don’t want want from Google Photos, open the Trash folder and Empty trash.
Step 2. Delete files from Google Drive and Empty Trash.
Usually, the files stored in Google Drive do not take up much space, but still it is good to check if there are large files there and delete the ones you don’t need.
1. Open Drive 
on your mobile phone or navigate to Google Drive from your computer and delete the files you don’t want (if any) under My Drive and Computers (if you backup your data from your computer to Google Drive).
2. Then open the Trash folder (2) and Empty Trash (3).
Step 3. Delete Hidden Data from Apps in Google Drive.
If you’re still seeing the “Storage is full” warning message after deleting files in Google Photos and Google Drive, then an app on your phone is probably using Google Drive to back up its data. To find out the culprit app, do the following:
1. From your computer, navigate to Google Drive, click on the Gear 
icon and select Settings.
2. Select Manage apps on the left.Then check the apps listed on the right to find out which ones are causing your Google storage to fill up. (e.g the “Viber – Safe Chats and Calls” in this example.)
3. Once you find out which app’s data fill ups your Google’s storage account space, click the Options menu on the right and select Delete hidden app data to remove the app’s data. When you are done, optionally click Disconnect from Drive to avoid the same problem in the future.*
* Note: Alternatively, open the app settings on your mobile phone and turn off the backup to your Google account.
Step 4. Check Google Storage status.
After deleting the hidden data from apps and the unwanted files from Google Photos & Google Drive, wait a few minutes and then go to https://one.google.com/storage to check if the “Storage is full” issue has been fixed, to view the available storage and how much space is used for each Google service.
That’s it! Let me know if this guide has helped you by leaving your comment about your experience. Please like and share this guide to help others.
