How Am I Affected by the Google Storage Project?

Please choose your primary university affiliation below for a detailed explanation of how you are affected by the new Google storage limits and the steps you should take.

Note: If you manage a Google Shared Account or shared drive, you can find information about each at the end of this page.
Important: If you are both an alum and faculty/staff member, choose faculty or staff. Additionally, if you are both a student and staff member, choose student (unless you intend to remain a faculty/staff member after graduation).

University Affiliations

Faculty (Regular, Emeritus, and Lecturers)

If you are a faculty member (regular, emeritus, or lecturer), you now have a 250GB storage limit in U-M Google. This limit applies across your entire account, including Google Drive, Mail, and Photos.

Storage limits for faculty were applied on January 16, 2023. It may have taken up to two weeks before you noticed that the limit had been applied to your account.

  • If you are under limit, there is no further action at this time unless you receive an email from ITS explaining how you are otherwise affected. (For example, if you are within 50GB of the 250GB limit, there may be additional actions you should take.)
  • If you are over limit, a temporary storage limit has been placed on your U-M Google account above your current storage total. You received an email from ITS on January 16 with more information and next steps. Please read this message carefully.
ITS has created a tool to assist faculty with moving data from U-M Google to another university-provided storage solution: U-M Dropbox or an ARC storage service (Turbo, Locker, Data Den). Refer to Getting Started With the ITS Google Storage Transfer Tool for access to the tool and instructions for getting started.

As a faculty member, you should:

  • Check your current storage usage: Google provides you with an overview of your current storage usage in Google Drive, Mail, and Photos and a list of the largest files in your Drive.
  • Clean up your U-M Google account: Review Tips for Cleaning Up Your U-M Google Account for suggestions on how to best engage in good data hygiene.
  • Investigate other storage solutions: A best practice for everyone affiliated with the university is to familiarize themselves with the array of storage options available to them using the U-M Data Storage Finder, as there are situations where alternate storage options may be preferred. The Finder includes information such as storage type, sharing options, special access methods, and pricing (where applicable).
Staff (Regular and Temporary)

If you are a staff member (regular or temporary), you now have a 250GB storage limit in U-M Google. This limit applies across your entire account, including Google Drive, Mail, and Photos.

Storage limits for staff were applied on January 16, 2023. It may have taken up to two weeks before you noticed that the limit had been applied to your account.

    • If you are under limit, there is no further action at this time unless you receive an email from ITS explaining how you are otherwise affected. (For example, if you are within 50GB of the 250GB limit, there may be additional actions you should take.)
    • If you are over limit, a temporary storage limit has been placed on your U-M Google account above your current storage total. You received an email from ITS on January 16 with more information and next steps. Please read this message carefully.
    ITS has created a tool to assist staff with moving data from U-M Google to U-M Dropbox. Refer to Getting Started With the ITS Google Storage Transfer Tool for access to the tool and instructions for getting started.

    As a staff member, you should:

    • Check your current storage usage: Google provides you with an overview of your current storage usage in Google Drive, Mail, and Photos and a list of the largest files in your Drive.
    • Clean up your U-M Google account: Review Tips for Cleaning Up Your U-M Google Account for suggestions on how to best engage in good data hygiene.
    • Investigate other storage solutions: A best practice for everyone affiliated with the university is to familiarize themselves with the array of storage options available to them using the U-M Data Storage Finder, as there are situations where alternate storage options may be preferred. The Finder includes information such as storage type, sharing options, special access methods, and pricing (where applicable).
    Student

    If you are a student (undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. candidates), you now have a 250GB storage limit in U-M Google. This limit applies across your entire account, including Google Drive, Mail, and Photos.

    Storage limits for students were applied on January 16, 2023.

      • If you are under limit, there is no further action at this time unless you receive an email from ITS explaining how you are otherwise affected. (For example, if you are within 50GB of the 250GB limit, there may be additional actions you should take.)
      • If you are over limit, a temporary storage limit has been placed on your U-M Google account above your current storage total. You received an email from ITS on January 16 with more information and next steps. Please read this message carefully.

      For upcoming Winter 2023 graduates: Download or export files from U-M Google Drive to stay within the 15GB of storage allotted to alumni before May 1, 2023. If you remain over 15GB on May 1, you will lose the ability to use Google Drive and Photos until you are under the limit. On August 1, 2023, if you remain over 15GB, your U-M Google account will be considered abandoned and deactivated.

      ITS has created a tool to assist students with moving data from U-M Google to U-M Dropbox. Refer to Getting Started With the ITS Google Storage Transfer Tool for access to the tool and instructions for getting started.

      As a student, you should:

      • Check your current storage usage: Google provides you with an overview of your current storage usage in Google Drive, Mail, and Photos and a list of the largest files in your Drive.
      • Clean up your U-M Google account: Review Tips for Cleaning Up Your U-M Google Account for suggestions on how to best engage in good data hygiene.
      • Transfer ownership of research and other university data: As a best practice and to prepare you for when you graduate, you should transfer ownership of files/folders containing research data to your faculty member or principal investigator (PI) in charge of the study. Speak with your research team to determine to whom ownership should be transferred and where best to store that data.
      Important: Your Google storage limit will change from 250GB to 15GB upon graduation. You will also lose the ability to create and manage shared drives as alums are not eligible. Please be aware of the services you lose upon graduation (including U-M Dropbox). You are responsible for understanding the affiliations you have at the university to determine when access to certain U-M computing services will end and how to prepare accordingly. Plan ahead to avoid data loss.
      Sponsored Affiliate

      If you are a sponsored affiliate (and do not have another active university affiliation), you now have a 250GB storage limit in U-M Google. This limit applies across your entire account, including Google Drive, Mail, and Photos.

      Storage limits for sponsored affiliates were applied on January 16, 2023. It may have taken up to two weeks before you noticed that the limit had been applied to your account.

        • If you are under limit, there is no further action at this time unless you receive an email from ITS explaining how you are otherwise affected. (For example, if you are within 50GB of the 250GB limit, there may be additional actions you should take.)
        • If you are over limit, a temporary storage limit has been placed on your U-M Google account above your current storage total. You received an email from ITS on January 16 with more information and next steps. Please read this message carefully.
        ITS has created a tool to assist sponsored affiliates (Type-1 only) with moving data from U-M Google to U-M Dropbox. Refer to Getting Started With the ITS Google Storage Transfer Tool for access to the tool and instructions for getting started.

        As a sponsored affiliate, you should:

        • Check your current storage usage: Google provides you with an overview of your current storage usage in Google Drive, Mail, and Photos and a list of the largest files in your Drive.
        • Clean up your U-M Google account: Review Tips for Cleaning Up Your U-M Google Account for suggestions on how to best engage in good data hygiene.
        • Investigate other storage solutions: A best practice for everyone affiliated with the university is to familiarize themselves with the array of storage options available to them using the U-M Data Storage Finder, as there are situations where alternate storage options may be preferred. The Finder includes information such as storage type, sharing options, special access methods, and pricing (where applicable).
        Important: Please be aware of the services you lose when your sponsorship expires (including U-M Dropbox and Google). You are responsible for understanding the affiliations you have at the university to determine when access to certain U-M computing services will end and how to prepare accordingly. Plan ahead to avoid data loss.
        Alum or Retiree

        If you are an alum or retiree (and do not have an active university affiliation), you now have a 15GB storage limit in U-M Google. This limit applies across your entire account, including Google Drive, Mail, and Photos.

        Storage limits for alums and retirees were applied on January 16, 2023. It may have taken up to two weeks before you noticed that the limit had been applied to your account.

        • If you are under limit, there is no further action at this time unless you receive an email from ITS explaining how you are otherwise affected. (For example, if you are within 3GB of the 15GB limit, there may be additional actions you should take.)
        • If you are over limit, a temporary storage limit has been placed on your U-M Google account above your current storage total. You received an email from ITS on January 16, 17, or 18 with more information and next steps. Please read this message carefully.

          • You will have until August 1, 2023, to bring your total storage under 15GB. After that date, you will lose the ability to use Google Drive and Photos until you are under the limit.

          • If you are still over the 15GB storage limit by January 2, 2024, all data in your account will be deleted. All deleted data will be unrecoverable.

        As an alum and/or retiree, you should:

        • Check your current storage usage in Google: Google provides an overview of your current storage usage in Google Drive, Mail, and Photos and a list of the largest files in your Drive.
        • Clean up your U-M Google account: Review Tips for Cleaning Up Your U-M Google Account for suggestions on how to best engage in good data hygiene. Reducing your storage will also help prevent storage banners from appearing on your account.
        • Transfer ownership of university data: Transfer ownership of files/folders involving university data (especially research data) to an individual with an active affiliation at the university (e.g., a faculty or staff member) or existing Google shared drive managed by actively affiliated individuals (note that shared drives now have a 15GB storage limit).
        • Export data from your account: Use Google Takeout to export your data from U-M Google to another non-university storage solution or personal account. Refer to Getting Started With Google Takeout for instructions on using the tool.

        Account Managers

        I Manage a Google Shared Account

        If you manage a U-M Google Shared Account, all Shared Accounts now have a 15GB storage limit in U-M Google. This limit applies across the entire account, including Google Drive, Mail, and Photos.

        Shared Account limits were applied on January 16, 2023. If your Shared Account is over limit and affected by this change, you received an email from ITS on January 23, 2023, with more information and next steps. Please read this message carefully. To check your current storage usage, log in to your Shared Account, and navigate to the account's storage overview.

        The Shared Account deadline is April 1, 2024. After that date, the account will lose the ability to use Google Drive and Photos until it is under the limit.

        Important: Please note that this limit is separate from your individual account limit. For example, if you’re a staff member, you still have a 250GB limit even if the Shared Account you help manage has a 15GB limit because they are two separate accounts.

        The intended purpose of Shared Accounts is to manage access to a shared inbox in Gmail and a shared Google Calendar. Shared Accounts should not be used for storage in Google Drive or Photos. If shared collaborative storage is needed, ITS recommends using a Google shared drive (NOT associated with your Shared Account), U-M Dropbox Team Folder, or another university-provided storage service.

        I Manage a Google Shared Drive

        If you manage a Google shared drive, there are several changes regarding storage:

        On January 16, 2023…

        • Every new shared drive created has a 15GB storage limit
        • Every existing shared drive with under 15GB of storage has had the new 15GB limit applied to the drive
        • Every existing shared drive (created prior to January 16) with over 15GB of storage was granted “legacy status” and doesn't need to reduce their storage consumption under 15GB
          • Shared drives over 15GB (i.e., "legacy") have had a storage limit slightly above their current storage usage (as of January 16) applied to the drive - this is not a temporary limit and will remain their final limit for as long as the shared drive remains eligible (i.e., has eligible Managers)
          • Legacy shared drives that do need to reduce their storage consumption received an initial email from ITS on January 23 with more information and next steps. (This message was sent to Managers of the drive.) Please read this message carefully. Legacy shared drives that did not receive this message do not have any required action to take.

        To check your current storage usage, navigate to the shared drive and click the information "i" icon in the top right corner of the page. In the sidebar that appears, you will find the drive's storage usage under Drive details > Storage used.

        Important: Please note that the shared drive limits are separate from your individual account limit. For example, if you’re a staff member, you still have a 250 GB individual limit, even if the shared drive you’re a member/Manager of has a 15GB limit.

        In conjunction with the new shared drive creation process and policies that were announced in December 2022, there will be additional changes to shared drives that no longer meet the membership eligibility requirements. Communications to affected individuals will be sent as applicable. Currently, the following shared drives are required to take action:

        •  Shared drives that have no Managers with an eligible university role
          • Ineligible roles include temporary staff, sponsored affiliates, alumni, retirees, and Shared Accounts
          • The Managers of these affected drives received an email from ITS on January 23 with more information and next steps
          • The deadline for these drives to either remove their data or add an eligible Manager (i.e., faculty, regular staff, or student) is August 1, 2023. After that date, all members will lose the ability to create, upload, copy, or move content into the shared drive.
          • On January 2, 2024, any affected drives that are still ineligible will be deleted and unrecoverable

        Appropriate Use of Shared Drives

        Shared drives should be used for collaborative data related to administration, learning, teaching, and/or research at the University of Michigan. Shared drives are not appropriate for storing personal data (SPG 601.07). Data in shared drives are considered to be owned by a group or team rather than an individual.

        Data that is not collaborative and/or does not necessitate the real-time collaborative features Google Drive offers should be stored in a more applicable location, such as a U-M Dropbox Team Folder or another university-provided storage service.