Office of the Provost

Update to Brandeis Google Storage

Dear Brandeis Community,

We are writing today with an important update to the Google storage policy deadline.  The storage limits that were previously announced will now be implemented on January 12, 2026, during which time additional support is available to facilitate the review process.

The strategic decision to establish storage limits is industry best practice, and is a direct response to the change in Google's policy that results in a significant cost increase to the University. Removing files that are no longer needed also keeps your account organized and reduces institutional risk by ensuring we are not holding on to outdated or unnecessary information. We recognize that this is a significant adjustment for some members of our community and that additional time and assistance to review and manage your email and files will be helpful. Below are listed a variety of resources to help you review and manage your stored email and files. Although implementation of storage limits has been delayed, we encourage you to continue reviewing your files and emails during this period to ensure you are not over your storage limits on January 12. The storage limits for individual Google accounts remain unchanged:

Storage Limits for Individual Google Accounts

  • Faculty and Faculty Emeriti: 75GB

  • Staff: 25GB

  • Academic Affiliates: 10GB

  • Students: 10GB

  • Contingent Workers: 1GB

Important Notes

  • The new Google storage limits apply only to your individual Brandeis account. Shared Drives, used for collaborative file sharing, are not affected.

  • We recommend that research teams move their collaborative data to Shared Drives.

  • Your files will not be deleted if you are over your quota.

  • If your storage usage exceeds your quota, you will temporarily be unable to create new files in Google Drive until you reduce your consumption below the limit.

How to Prepare

Please review your current Google storage usage by following this link for instructions. 

Detailed information on the difference between Shared Drives and a shared folder can be found on the ITS Google Drive website.

Gmail is a large source of data usage. Review any email attachments (downloading them if needed) as these can take up a significant amount of storage. Your send folder in Gmail may still contain emails you’ve previously deleted; review the folder and delete old emails. You can also download important emails to your hard drive as PDFs. Review how to search your email by file size, date, keyword, subject, and sender to review by specific terms. To help you manage and transition your data, ITS will be offering several resources and training opportunities in areas that include setting up of shared drives, transferring file ownership, reducing storage levels, and organizing and reducing the size of your Gmail account. 

  • New Google Storage Website: Our new website is the best place for comprehensive guidance. There, you'll find information on best practices, upcoming training dates, and answers to frequently asked questions. 

  • Interactive In-Person Classes: We will be holding interactive classes to guide you through these changes. Dates and times will be announced soon.

  • ITS Helpdesk “Health Checks”:  Department administrators can schedule one-on-one sessions with the ITS Helpdesk to discuss best practices for setting up shared drives, transferring file ownership, and reducing storage levels.

Assistance

We understand you may have questions about these changes. 

We appreciate your cooperation during this transition.
 

Sincerely,

Carol Fierke,
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Stew Uretsky,
Executive Vice President Finance & Administration