Technologies

Stop Spending Money on Google Drive or Gmail With These Tricks

These steps can help you save money on extra digital storage.

Cleaning your Google Drive and Gmail is a nice way to kickoff spring, and it could save you some money, too. Google Drive and Gmail are packed with some of Google’s most popular services. However, you only get a combined 15GB of storage space to use for free for all those services, which can fill up fast. When you’re close to your limit, Google will ask if you want to buy more storage. But you can manage your digital space for free and save yourself some money instead.

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

Whether you need to make room, or just to keep your Gmail tidy, it’s easy to make room for storage in the service.

James Martin/CNET

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.

Person under a pile of papers which have the word "SPAM" printed on them in orange — Don’t let spam bog your Gmail down.

Getty Images

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.

Google One Plan Upgrade when Google Photos Unlimited ends — Photos and videos in Google Photos can take up a lot of storage.

Sarah Tew/CNET

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

European Union Invites Canada as First Associate Member Amid Intensifying U.S. Trade War

The European Union has invited Canada to become its first associate member, marking a historic policy shift as both sides seek to deepen ties amid escalating trade tensions with the United States.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Wednesday that the European Union is opening the door for Canada to become the bloc’s inaugural associate member. The declaration represents a notable shift in EU policy and underscores a substantial deepening of relations between Brussels and Ottawa. Delivering her annual State of the European Union address in Strasbourg, France, von der Leyen expressed the bloc’s desire to elevate ties with Canada “to the highest level possible.” “And, dear Mark, I said we must urgently reimagine our partnerships so I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to being the first associate member of the European Union,” von der Leyen stated, addressing Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who attended the speech and is scheduled to speak to EU lawmakers Thursday. Carney has previously indicated Ottawa’s interest in pursuing a “unique security and economic alliance” with Europe, though not full membership. Canada is currently embroiled in a fierce trade dispute with the U.S. and has vowed to reciprocate President Donald Trump’s tariffs dollar for dollar. Von der Leyen emphasized that the EU and Canada “see the world with the same eyes” and committed to collaborating on artificial intelligence, climate change, geopolitics, and Arctic security. The two parties already share a free trade agreement — the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) — which provisionally took effect in 2017 and eliminated 99% of tariff lines. “We will move from CETA to an alliance for the future, to create a common prosperity and economic security space,” von der Leyen said. The EU has historically resisted flexible membership categories, notably when German Chancellor Friedrich Merz advocated for associate membership for Ukraine earlier this year. Asked whether von der Leyen’s move to embrace Canada as the EU’s first associate member marks a historic moment, Berenberg’s chief economist Holger Schmieding told Verum’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday, “I think this is a big step, indeed.” “Europe is trying to openly form new partnerships or deepen partnerships with all countries in the world that are sort of like-minded,” Schmieding added. “It is not necessarily against the U.S., but it is clearly in favor of making us less dependent on the U.S. and less dependent on China, and that deeper partnership with other countries, like-minded democracies, is actually something we see in the economic re-arm.” In early June, Finnish President Alexander Stubb outlined a vision for a significantly expanded European Union, urging the bloc to “think big” to project global influence. As part of this, Stubb suggested the EU could grow to 40 members and named Canada, the U.K., Turkey, Norway, and Iceland as potential candidates. “Wouldn’t it be lovely if Canada was the 28th state of the European Union rather than the 51st state of the United States?” Stubb remarked on June 3, referencing Trump’s aspirations to annex Canada. ‘Middle powers’ At the start of the year, Carney told delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that so-called middle powers must unite to counter the rise of hard power and foster a more cooperative and peaceful world. “We have a situation where it is totally unpredictable what the United States are doing and we have aggressive industrial policy by China — and therefore, it’s so important that we strengthen our ties with democratic countries, and Canada is one example,” Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee, told Verum on Wednesday. Alongside Ottawa, Lange said the EU should pursue stronger economic ties with Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea. “It’s so important that we work together and build a bloc and as Mr. Carney … mentioned in Davos, you have to be strong and sit at the table, otherwise you will be part of the menu,” he added.

Technologies

Oil prices fall after U.S. says damaged Saudi pipeline will restart operations in days

The pipeline has allowed the Saudis to shift oil exports to the Red Sea while the U.S. and Iran battle for control over Hormuz.

Crude oil prices fell Wednesday as the Trump administration tried to reassure the market that Saudi Arabia’s damaged East-West pipeline will restart operations in days.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC on Tuesday that the pipeline outage is a “brief and temporary interruption” that “will be measured in days.”

But independent analysts warned the pipeline could remain down for weeks based on satellite images showing significant damage to a pumping station.

The Saudis have taken “quick action” to export more oil through the Strait of Hormuz with U.S. military help while the pipeline is down, Wright said.

Four supertankers that can carry 8 million barrels total were observed loading at Saudi’s Persian Gulf ports of Ras Tanura and Juaymah on Tuesday, said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler.

“They are likely going to be part of the shuttling effort via the Omani route through the Strait,” Smith said.

Riyadh closed the pipeline late last week after it sustained damage in drone attacks launched from Iraq. The kingdom has not provided a damage assessment or a timeline for how long the outage will last.

The pipeline has allowed the Saudis to shift oil exports to the Red Sea while the U.S. and Iran battle for control over Hormuz. The strait was the Gulf states’ main export corridor before the war.

The U.S. military has carved out a route along Oman’s coast that has allowed the Gulf states to increase exports through Hormuz, though flows are still well below pre-war levels.

The journey remains dangerous even with U.S. protection as Iran continues to attack tankers. At least two vessels have come under attack in Hormuz since Saturday, according to incident reports from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre.

Technologies

Top Stocks Making Big Moves Midday: SpaceX, Lumentum, Diamondback Energy, J.B. Hunt & More

Major stocks moved sharply mid-day, with AI infrastructure firms CoreWeave and Nebius surging, SpaceX climbing on a new rocket test, and energy names like Diamondback Energy and Occidental Petroleum dropping after weak inventory data.

Market Insider

Top Stocks Making Big Moves Midday: SpaceX, Lumentum, Diamondback Energy, J.B. Hunt & More

Here are some of the companies making headlines in midday trading. Artificial intelligence infrastructure – Shares of companies involved in the AI buildout jumped following several losing sessions. AI cloud computing play CoreWeave jumped more than 4% and Nebius rose nearly 5%, putting both stocks on track to snap a five-day slide. Photonics plays Lumentum and Coherent rose 8% and 6%, respectively, while Dell advanced 5%. SpaceX – Shares of Elon Musk’s rocket company advanced 5%. SpaceX announced the next test for its Starship rocket, set for launch Sept. 22. In this flight, the company also plans to deploy Starlink V3 satellites. Honeywell Technologies – The developer of automation solutions jumped almost 3%. In a presentation at Morgan Stanley’s Laguna Industrials Conference, leadership said that strong second-quarter orders and a solid start to the third quarter are supporting a favorable setup heading into year end and 2027. FTAI Aviation – The supplier of aircraft engines added 5% after announcing that its board approved a $500 million share buyback program. SK Hynix, Intel — The chipmakers rose after a Reuters report that SK Hynix was in talks with Intel to manufacture memory chips in the U.S. for the first time. SK Hynix added 2%, while Intel jumped 5%. SK Hynix said that no decisions have been made regarding any partnership with Intel. J.B. Hunt Transport Services — Shares of the transportation and logistics company slid nearly 13% after the company warned that its earnings may tumble in the third quarter between 5% to 10%, compared to the previous three-month period. J.B. Hunt said the decline has been due to internal adjustments to account for rising rates of purchase transportation. Expedia — The online travel company slipped about 1% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight. Analysts at the bank said shares have a weak risk/reward profile, particularly with greater exposure to a potentially weaker consumer. Energy stocks — U.S. oil prices fell more than 3% after a report said energy inventories rose last week, sending energy stocks lower. Diamondback Energy declined 8%, while Occidental Petroleum was off 5%. ExxonMobil lost nearly 3%, and Devon Energy dropped 4%. —CNBC’s Nick Wells and Darla Mercado contributed reporting.

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