Technologies

Cleaning Out Your Google Drive or Gmail Could Save You Money

You’ll never pay for more storage again with these tips.

Google has some of the most popular digital services in Google Drive and Gmail. Google gives you a combined 15GB of storage space for free for all its services, which can fill up pretty fast. When you get close to that limit, Google will notify you and ask if you want to pay for more storage. You might be tempted to pay more for storage, but you don’t have to. There are other, free ways to manage your digital space.

Here’s how to free up Google Drive and Gmail space on desktop and mobile so you don’t have to pay for storage. We recommend doing this on desktop, as you’ll have an easier time sorting through and managing files compared to doing it on your mobile device.

Delete large files first

If you only want to delete a few items from Google Drive and Gmail to free up space, you can sort each service by file size and delete one or two large files instead of a few dozen smaller items.

Here’s how to delete files by size in Google Drive on your desktop.

1. Log into your Google Drive account.

2. Once logged in, click Storage in the menu on the left side of the screen.

3. The Storage page should list your files from largest to smallest, but if not click Storage Used on the right side of the screen. The files should now be ordered from largest to smallest.

4. Click large files you want to delete to select them, then click either the trash bin in the top right of your screen or drag the large files to Trash on the left side of the screen.

5. Click Trash to go to the Trash menu.

6. Click Empty Trash in the top-right corner of your screen.

7. Click Delete forever and your files are gone.

You can do this in the Google Drive app, as well. Here’s how.

1. Open your Google Drive app and log into your account.

2. Tap Files in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

3. Tap Name underneath My Drive near the top of the screen.

4. Tap Storage Used. This will arrange your files from largest to smallest.

5. Tap the three dots (…) next to the item you want to delete.

6. Tap Remove.

7. Tap the hamburger icon in the top-left corner of the screen next to Search in Drive.

8. Tap Trash.

9. Tap the three dots (…) in the top-right corner of the screen.

10. Tap Empty trash.

You can also arrange and delete files by size in Gmail on the desktop. Here’s how.

1. Log into your Gmail account.

2. Type has:attachment larger:10MB into the search bar and hit Search. This will show you all emails that have attachments larger than 10 MB from largest to smallest. You can use this format to filter by other size files, not just 10 MBs.

3. Check the boxes to the left of each email you want to delete, then click the Trash icon in the top-right corner of the screen.

4. Click Trash on the left side of the screen to go to the Trash menu. If you don’t see Trash, click More and Trash should be in the expanded menu.

5. Once in Trash, click Empty trash now at the top of the screen.

Here’s how to arrange and delete files by size in the Gmail app.

1. Open your Gmail app and log into your account.

2. Type has:attachment larger:10MB into the search bar and hit Search. This will show you all emails that have attachments larger than 10MB, from largest to smallest. You can use this format to filter by other size files too, not just 10MBs.

3. Tap into the email you want to delete.

4. Tap the trash bin icon in the top-right corner of your screen.

5. Tap < in the top-left corner of your screen.

6. Tap the hamburger icon in the top-left corner of the screen next to Search in mail.

7. Tap Trash.

8. Tap Empty trash now.

Note that once a file goes to Trash, it will automatically delete after 30 days.

Empty your Gmail spam folder

It’s easy to forget about emptying your spam folder, and it can double the amount of data your Gmail account uses. Emptying your spam folder (or your social or promotions folders) is an easy way to make space.

Here’s how to empty your spam folder on your desktop.

1. Log into your Gmail account.

2. Once logged in, click Spam on the left side of the screen. If you don’t see Spam, click More, and Spam should be in the expanded menu.

3. In your Spam folder, click Delete all spam messages now.

Here’s how to empty your spam folder in the mobile app.

1. Open the Gmail app and log into your account.

2. Tap the hamburger icon in the top-left corner of the screen next to Search in mail.

3. Tap Spam.

4. Tap Delete all spam messages now or Empty spam now.

Clean up your Google Photos

Google also includes Google Photos in the 15GB of free storage it gives its users. Photos and videos can take up more space than text-based files so it’s a good idea to go through and delete old photos and videos to make room.

Unfortunately, there’s no option to arrange your photos and videos from largest to smallest like in Google Drive and Gmail, so you will have to go through and delete items manually.

Here’s how to delete photos and videos from Google Photo on your desktop.

1. Open and log into Google Photos.

2. Scroll your mouse over photos and videos you want to delete and click the gray check mark icon in the top left corner of the photo or video.

3. Click the trash icon in the top right corner of the screen.

4. Click Move to trash.

5. Click Trash on the left side of the screen.

6. Click Empty trash near the top-right corner of your screen.

7. Click Empty trash again, and you’re set.

Here’s how to delete photos and videos from the Google Photo mobile app.

1. Open and log into Google Photos.

2. Tap the photo or video you want to delete.

3. Tap the trash icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

4. Tap Delete.

5. Tap Library in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

6. Tap Trash.

7. Tap the three dots (…) in the top-right corner of the screen.

8. Tap Empty trash.

9. Tap Delete.

If you don’t click or tap Empty trash on either platform, the photos and videos you’ve deleted will automatically delete after 60 days.

When all else fails, download your files

If your storage is still almost full and you can’t part with any more items from your Google Drive, Gmail or Google Photos, you can download your items and store them directly on your computer.

Here’s how to download your Google Drive files for storage on another hard drive.

1. Open and log into your Google Drive account on your desktop.

2. Select the files you want to download.

3. Click the three stacked dots in the upper-right corner of your screen.

4. Click Download.

5. Once the items are downloaded, feel free to delete them from your Google Drive.

You can also download your emails from Gmail. Here’s how.

1. Open and log into your Gmail account on your desktop.

2. Click and open an email you want to download.

3. Click the three stacked dots next to the date of the email.

4. Click Download message.

5. Once the emails are downloaded, you can delete them from your Gmail.

Here’s how to download photos and videos from Google Photos.

1. Open and log into your Gmail account on your desktop.

2. Click and open a photo or video you want to download.

3. Click the three stacked dots in the top-right corner of the screen.

4. Click Download.

5. Once the items are downloaded, you’re free to delete them from your Google Photos.

For more, check out these 10 Gmail tips and tools, nine Google Drive features you might have missed and five Google Photos features to try now.

Technologies

Meta Allegedly Profited by $16B From Scam Ads. US Senators Demand FTC, SEC Probe

The lawmakers say Meta’s platforms may be implicated in «about a third of all US scams» and linked to more than $50 billion in consumer losses last year.

US Senators Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal are calling for an investigation into Meta over its alleged role in profiting from scam-laden advertisements on Facebook and Instagram. The demand follows a Reuters investigation reportedly based on internal Meta documents that estimated that nearly 10% of Meta’s 2024 revenue — about $16 billion — came from alleged «illicit advertising.»

In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the lawmakers urged regulators to «immediately open investigations and, if the reporting is accurate, pursue vigorous enforcement action … to force Meta to disgorge profits, pay penalties and agree to cease running such advertisements.»

One document reportedly alleged that Meta earned $3.5 billion in just six months from what it classified as «higher-risk» scam ads.

The same internal records reportedly suggested that many ads allegedly violating fraud rules were permitted to run because they «did not apply to many ads… [that staff] believed ‘violated the spirit’ of its rules against scam advertising.»

Meta denies all of these allegations.

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Why this matters for you

The scale of this alleged fraud raises serious concerns about Meta’s business model. Many question whether the company is doing enough to police its ad ecosystem, given that a major revenue stream appears to be tied to deceptive or outright fraudulent campaigns.

The senators allege that Meta’s lax enforcement — combined with the continued presence of gambling ads, payment scams, political deepfakes and other dangerous content in its public Ad Library — underscores significant risks.

In their letter, Hawley and Blumenthal highlighted that reducing reports of scam ads by 58% over 18 months — as Meta says — may not tell the whole story. They pointed to broader trends that, according to their own reading of the documents, Meta’s platforms may be allegedly implicated in «about a third of all US scams» and linked to more than $50 billion in consumer losses last year.

What Meta is saying

Meta responded defensively to this call for investigation.

Meta spokesman Andy Stone criticized the senators’ allegations as «exaggerated and wrong,» insisting that the company «aggressively fights fraud and scams because people on our platforms don’t want this content, legitimate advertisers don’t want it, and we don’t want it either.»

Ongoing misinformation on Meta platforms

Among the more provocative allegations is that some of the scam ads impersonate government figures or political leaders. The senators point to specific examples, including a bogus advertisement that falsely claimed President Donald Trump was offering $1,000 to food assistance recipients.

They also raise concerns that foreign cybercrime groups based in countries such as China, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the Philippines could be behind many of the scam campaigns.

In general, the senators’ push for FTC and SEC action seeks accountability for a social media giant whose ad system may be fueling fraud at an unprecedented scale, though Meta publicly underscores its commitment to user safety. With so much of Meta’s business potentially tied to high-risk ads, the outcome of any investigation could reshape not only its practices but also broader regulatory expectations for major tech companies going forward.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 25, #898

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 25, #898

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is both fun and tricky. Think colors, and see if you can find items that share the same color. The purple category wants you to look within four words and find a connecting word hidden in them. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Not big.

Green group hint: These things are the same color.

Blue group hint: Itchy!

Purple group hint: They all share words that are positive.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Small-time.

Green group: Things that are pink.

Blue group: Things you can scratch.

Purple group: Starting with optimistic words.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is small-time. The four answers are Mickey Mouse, rinky-dink, trivial and two-bit.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is things that are pink. The four answers are Barbie Dreamhouse, calamine lotion, cherry blossom and flamingo.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is things you can scratch. The four answers are bug bite, lottery ticket, vinyl record and your head.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is starting with optimistic words. The four answers are glad-hand, Happy Meal, merry-go-round and sunny-side up.

Technologies

I’m Buying These Headphones for My Gamer Thanks to This Deep Black Friday Discount

SteelSeries headphones are among the top gaming headsets on the market and right now you can score them for as much as half off ahead of Black Friday.

Ready or not, Black Friday is just about here. And Black Friday deals are already popping up on the regular.Here at CNET, we offer our services as dedicated deal finders, scouring the market to curate the best offers for you. We recently spotted some of our favorite gaming headsets on sale at Amazon, some of them for more than half off. We don’t know if these prices will last all the way to Black Friday itself, so if you see something you like, we suggest grabbing it sooner rather than later.

Right now, several SteelSeries’ most popular gaming headsets are seeing nice discounts. I’ve highlighted some of the best offers below, including the ones in my own cart right now, but be sure to check out the Amazon page to see all the options.

First up, the headset in my cart right now as as a holiday gift for my discerning teenage son is the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3x wireless gaming headset, currently down to just $90, a $20 savings. Arctis Nova 3x comes in blue, black or white and is compatible with Xbox, PC, PS5, Switch and mobile and has a whopping 40-hour battery life. They are lightweight and have a stretchy headband for added comfort.

If you want to go pro, check out the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro wireless headset, down to $290 from $380. That’s nearly $100 off a multi-platform compatible headset good for Xbox, Switch, PS5, PS4, PC and mobile. This headset was our sibling site, PCMag’s top pick for best overall gaming headphones. It boasts active noise cancellation, 360-degree spatial audio and a ClearCast Gen 2 mic. Only the black variant is currently on sale at this big of a discount.

Essentially a more affordable version of the above, the Arctis Nova Pro wired headset for Xbox is down to $150, which is $100 off the regular price of $250. This one also got PCMag’s seal of approval for best wired gaming headphones.

Buyers should note that a few of the headsets on sale are renewed, so be sure to double check before buying. We’ve also rounded up the best Black Friday headphone deals if you’re in the market for something for an audiophile near you.

CHEAP GAMING LAPTOP DEALS OF THE WEEK

Alienware 16 Aurora AC16250 Intel 7 RTX 4050 512GB SSD 16GB RAM 16-inch 120Hz Laptop:

$900 (save $200)
Lenovo LOQ Intel i5 13th Gen RTX 5050 1TB SSD 16GB RAM 15.6-inch Laptop:

$800 (save $245)
HP Omen Slim Intel Ultra 5 RTX 5050 512GB SSD 16GB RAM 16-inch Laptop:

$950 (save $500)
Alienware 16 Aurora AC16250 Intel 7 RTX 5050 512GB SSD 16GB RAM 16-inch 120Hz Laptop:

$1,000 (save $200)
HP Victus Ryzen 7 RTX 4050 1TB SSD 16GB RAM 15.6-inch Laptop:

$900 (save $300)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

Gaming headphones come in a wide range of styles and price points, but the best ones factor in three key components: sound quality, battery life and comfort — those all-night gaming sessions pretty much demand it. Over the years, we’ve tested a ton of brands, and SteelSeries frequently comes out on top, especially for PC and Xbox users. Being able to pick up a pair at a discount makes it a great opportunity to gift or grab a new headset that delivers on comfort, sound and quality.

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