Technologies

Save Money With These Google Drive and Gmail Tricks

Don’t spend money on digital storage again.

Cleaning your Google Drive and Gmail is a nice way to kick off spring, and it could save you money, too. Google gives users a combined 15GB of storage space to use for free between Google Drive, Gmail and other Google services, and that space can can fill up fast. When you’re close to your limit, Google will ask if you want to buy more storage by subscribing to Google One. Or you can follow these tricks to manage your digital space and save yourself some money.

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 rather than your mobile device, as you’ll have an easier time sorting through and managing files.

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.

Google Drive Has a 5 Million Item Cap

See at CNET

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

Everything I Suspect Will Be Announced at WWDC 2025 Monday

We could see new iPhone, Mac and Apple Watch software called iOS 26, MacOS Tahoe and WatchOS 26. Apple is rumored to overhaul all of its OSes with a unifying visual interface.

Apple’s developer conference, WWDC 2025, kicks off Monday at 10 a.m. PT. At its last two WWDC events, Apple launched itself into new territories, jumping into both AR/VR and generative AI. There’s pressure on the company to match, if not top, what it’s done in the past. CNET has editors and writers attending in person to report on live WWDC 2025 developments as they break.

There was the Vision Pro in 2023, and then Apple Intelligence in 2024. What big announcement is coming in 2025? With both the Vision Pro and Apple Intelligence having faced slow and heavily criticized starts, the big message at this year’s WWDC doesn’t seem clear at all. Apple might focus on operating system redesigns and gradual improvements across the board.

WWDC is usually a showcase for Apple’s future-forward ideas. It’s also where the company discusses its developer tools, as you’d expect. And it’s where previews of all the new OS versions are revealed, giving an early look at what’s coming to the iPhone, iPad, Mac and other Apple devices.

It’s possible Apple will reveal a new home device — a display-enabled HomePod — or even a new Apple Pencil with a calligraphy mode. But the biggest rumors so far suggest a new cross-OS redesign and renaming that could be Apple’s way of deflecting some attention away from not having big new AI features to show off.

OS by year: Will it be iOS 26?

Recent reports from Bloomberg’s often-correct Mark Gurman say Apple is going to ditch the existing numbered OS convention it’s used for years and instead go with another approach to naming: labeling all annual OSes by year number. Instead of iOS 19, we’ll have iOS 26. And iPadOS 26, and MacOS 26, and WatchOS 26, TVOS 26, VisionOS 26. Samsung made a similar move in 2020, jumping from the Galaxy S10 in 2019 to the Galaxy S20 in 2020.

Apple’s numbering has felt pretty disjointed as the numbers have gone ever-higher across multiple device categories. A yearly number would at least help people know if they’re on the current version.

Glass as the new look

The WWDC invites, featuring a hazy transparent ring, hint at a reported redesign of all the company’s software to a new «glass» look. Bloomberg’s Gurman reported on a large incoming cross-OS design shift, calling it a dramatic redesign and one of the biggest Apple’s done in years. The design may mirror the Vision Pro’s VisionOS feel, which has lots of frosted glass panes, layers of transparency and circular app icons. Front Page Tech’s Jon Prosser showed a preview of the expected design based on information from his sources, and it definitely looks VisionOS-esque.

Beyond a coat of paint, will the OSes start to feel more similar in function too? I’m particularly curious about how iPadOS and MacOS start to close in on each other even more. Apple’s iPad has slowly inched toward acting like a computer, with features like Stage Manager for multitasking, and it’s felt inevitable that the tablet line would eventually provide a comparable experience to the MacBook.

WatchOS should get Apple Intelligence, and the Health app may be part of it

One of the devices that’s missed out on Apple Intelligence so far has been the Apple Watch, and that should be changing soon. Apple is expected to put more AI on the next Watch OS, which could help with message summaries, translation and maybe even composing messages. It could also bring overdue health and fitness upgrades. Reports say Apple could be working on adding generative AI insights to its Health app data and even using AI as a medical service, with a launch target of 2026. Health could possibly get a paid subscription tier, similar to Fitness and what many of Apple’s current services are adding. This could be like what Google is doing with Wear OS, which has long used Fitbit Premium as a health subscription (a broader Gemini rollout is on the way too).

I like AI coaching and insights on a watch, but I don’t like subscriptions. We’ll see what happens, and if Apple gets into any of these future plans at this WWDC.

Battery life boosts

Another recent report (again, Gurman) says AI will help Apple improve battery life on its devices. How many devices? The iPhone, but hopefully the Apple Watch, too — these are the products in the lineup that I find I need to charge more than I’d like. For me, at least, iPads and Macs are mostly fine on battery life as is, but I’ll never refuse longer battery life for anything.

Apple has made gradual boosts to its battery features over time, but maybe there will be more intelligently applied power modes this time.

Game news?

Apple may be pushing the importance of games again, just as the Nintendo Switch 2 debuts. Bloomberg reports that the company could release a new app to act as a hub for games and game services including Apple Arcade, becoming an overdue overhaul of Game Center.

A number of game controller accessories, like Backbone, already have app hubs that function as game launchers, but Apple has never done much to help organize games on its devices in a way that feels more like what you find on a console. A new app seems like a good fit for those types of controllers, too.

Apple just acquired its first game studio: RAC7, the developers of hit Apple Arcade game Sneaky Sasquatch.

Apple could also have VR gaming news, if older reports come true: PlayStation VR 2 controllers have been expected to work with Vision Pro headsets, in a push to expand gaming on Apple’s VR/AR headset. Maybe that’ll be part of a push to get more developers onboard, as Apple could be readying a less expensive version of the Vision Pro in the next year. Right now the headset can’t compete with Meta’s more affordable Quest headsets in the gaming department.

AI: Live translation, and maybe Vision camera advancements

Apple opened up camera access to enterprise developers last year, and now it’s time for AI tools to emerge for everyone else — tools that could help describe what you’re seeing, or help you remember things too. Apple has already added assistive support for some camera-enabled functions on the Vision Pro and other products, suggesting more to come.

Though Apple’s WWDC keynote presentation isn’t expected to include many announcements of AI strides, the company still needs to compete with Google, Open AI, Perplexity and many others who are making such strides. Reports say live translation will come to some AirPods models, which would mirror what Google and Meta have been doing on glasses and earbuds and on phones.

The biggest VisionOS move I’d expect to see is some introduction of camera-aware AI. Apple Intelligence debuted on Apple’s VR/AR spatial computer headset earlier this year, but none of the AI can take advantage of the system’s cameras to «see» what you’re seeing. At least not yet. Google’s use of Gemini to access the cameras on upcoming headsets and glasses, and Meta’s support of camera access for Quest developers (and its expanding AI tools on Ray-Bans), suggest Apple needs to move this way now to begin paving a way for camera-aware AI to work on future headsets and eventually glasses.

Apple Pencil

We could see either a brand-new Apple Pencil or updated features that make the current device feel new, according to a report from Bloomberg. Expect to see a new a digital reed calligraphy pen feature unveiled. It’s unclear whether this new software will be for both the original Apple Pencil and the Apple Pencil 2, or if we’ll actually see a brand-new version of the stylus.

A new HomePod-slash-iPad?

There could be a new product emerging at WWDC: a look at a long-expected screen-enabled HomePod that may be part of a bigger push into smarter smart home tech. Reports suggest it’ll be something like a HomePod now — speaker-enabled, with an array of mics — but with a touchscreen. Would it be a screen big enough to act as a photo frame, or something more like a control panel? Where would this thing live, exactly? And what would it cost? Originally, reports of this device even suggested a robotic arm that would allow the screen to follow your face, but those plans seem to be off the table for now.

Of all the wild-card product ideas Apple could announce at this show, this seems the most likely.

WWDC/Gurman potpourri

There are, of course, a number of other rumors from Gurman. Here are some that caught our attention:

Messages app: iOS could get the ability to add backgrounds to chats and group chats.
iPadOS: Apple may reveal an iPadOS version of the Preview app.
iPadOS: MacOS-like multitasking might come to the iPad.
iPhone Camera app: The interface could get an overhaul focused on making it simpler to use.

We’ll know more soon

WWDC is happening June 9, with the keynote video presentation streaming at 10 a.m. Pacific. We’ll be there at Apple Park, too, covering it in person. We’ll know more about how all this software could be hinting at new products, and get a check-in on where exactly Apple is with its AI strategies. And maybe we’ll get a bit of product news, too — you never know.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for June 9, #463

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 463 for June 9.

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

Todays NYT Strands puzzle features a bunch of mysterious words. Some are a bit difficult to unscramble so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: What you see isn’t what you get

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Hiding in plain sight

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

CALL, CALLS, FALL, FALLS, SAME, SEAM, LAND, ROSE, COVE, CANE, CANES, FLUME, FLUMES, DIGS, MEAL, COLA, CARD, CASE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

MASK, CLOAK, COVER, FACADE, DISGUISE, CAMOUFLAGE

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is FALSEFRONT. To find it, start with the F that’s two rows over from the far left and two letters down. Wind around into a question mark.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for June 9, #729

Here are some hints and the answers for Connections for June 9, No. 729.

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.

Do you play the NYT Spelling Bee? If you do, you should be able to ace the purple category in today’s NYT Connections puzzle. Read on for clues and today’s Connections 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 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: Control-C.

Green group hint: Don’t wait till the last minute.

Blue group hint: Pals to plan a heist.

Purple group hint: Think another NYT online game.