Google Housekeeping

Google Storage Tiers

*Please note the storage limits identified below refer your personal University Google Drive 

To View your tier

1. Open a new browser tab and click the Apps Cube
2. Select Google Drive
3. In the left-hand navigation menu below the Cloud icon you will see your tier, for example 1.5gb of 16gb View Image

When do we (staff) need to reach 200TB of data storage as a university? 

Since March 2024, Library and Information Services have been encouraging staff to 'Declutter their Digital Data' due to Google's discontinuation of unlimited storage and our need to get within the 200TB limit. 

Great progress has been made so far, resulting in a reduction in our data storage from 465TB to 365TB between March and June 2024, however, we are still a long way from our 200TB limit. This encouragement has been to review your current data and delete what is not required - not move your data to another storage location. 

Our initial deadline was to reach 200TB by 1 July 2024. However, following productive discussions with Google, we have secured an extension until 1 September 2024. This extension will allow us to continue working collaboratively to achieve the 200TB goal whilst not causing significant disruption to your day-to-day business.

To ensure we can achieve these targets and to manage our storage more effectively in the future, storage limits on staff Google accounts (includes both Drive and Email) will come in effect from Monday 15 July 2024. No decision has been made for student accounts at this time.

To ensure staff are provided with an appropriate limit based on their current usage and to not cause any disruption to your day-to-day business, we will initially be applying tiered storage limits (see below). This will aim to stop future growth above the new limits and give time for those in Tiers 2-5 to reduce their storage, with the overall ambition to bring everyone within the 16GB threshold by 1 September 2024.

Why has this decision been made?

This decision has been made for the following reasons:

During this campaign to reduce data, there have been examples where 17TB of data has been uploaded within a week. As there are no storage limits currently in Google this causes difficulty in achieving and staying within the 200TB target.

Storage is no longer free, and we need to work within our limits of what is affordable.
Breaching our institutional storage limit will have significant business impacts such as being unable to edit current files or uploading new files to Google Drive.
 

Am I going to lose data when the storage limits come into place on the 15 July 2024? 

No critical business or research data will be intentionally moved or removed from Google until the University has an alternative solution for the storage of approved large data sets.  LIS has a working group set up to address this issue, and, as I am sure you can appreciate, the current financial situation is making finding a solution a real challenge. 

I have a project which is going to create a lot of data, and I think I will need more space than my quota band will allow. What do I do? 

In the future, if you believe you have an upcoming business requirement to store more than your quota, then contact the Service Desk. They will be happy to provide additional guidance on the options and costs, and, where necessary, refer you to a specialist to explore your requirements in more detail. 
 

I have heard colleagues talk about setting up personal cloud storage, using external hard drives/USB sticks, or start to use OneDrive before my area is formally migrated. Should I do this? 

Unless advised otherwise, colleagues are reminded that they must not: 

1. Transfer their research data to removable media (USB sticks, external hard drives etc), as these devices are easily lost, damaged, or compromised.  There is also no guarantee that future technology will remain compatible with their means of connection. 
2. Move any data to Microsoft OneDrive or Sharepoint.  Microsoft has data storage limits too, so it is important that it is rolled out in a way that prevents us replicating the storage issues we have with Google.   
3. Move any data to personal Google drives (or other “free” personal cloud solutions).  The University’s contracts with our cloud providers ensure compliance with data protection legislation and a basis in UK law.  This is not the case with most personal cloud storage contracts, so transferring personal data to these would constitute a data breach, for which the individual could be held personally liable. 

Where can I find support to declutter my digital data? 

We have lots of support and guidance available for you, as follows: 

• Visit the Google Housekeeping support page for hints, tips, help, and advice. 
• Our Digital Skills team is running training sessions to support you in housekeeping your data and is also available to provide more detailed support where required, details can be found on the Google Housekeeping support page. 
• Your Digital Superheroes are available for further advice and guidance. 
• Contact the IT Service Desk for any additional advice not found above. 

In the future if you believe you have an upcoming business requirement to store more than your quota, then contact the Service Desk. They will be happy to provide additional guidance on the options and costs, and where necessary refer you to a specialist to explore your requirements in more detail.
 

Please remember everyone needs to be in Tier 1 (0-16GB) by the 1 September 

If you have freed up storage we would recommend that you move to a lower tier - to so this phone Service desk and they will be able to apply the change for you.

If you need more storage you will need to complete the Storage Exception form  form explaining why the space is needed, this will be reviewed by your SDM and the Project.  The Storage Exception can be found in Self Service in the IT section under Technical Services.

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Video Instructions

Instructions

1. Open Google Drive

2. Select Storage on the left menu panel Click here to View Image

3. Your files will be displayed in size order (largest first)
4. Delete files that you no longer require    

You can use words or symbols called search operators to filter your Gmail search results.

1. In the search box type in the search operator

This Google Support article provides a comprehensive list,  the main ones are listed below:

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Video Instructions

Instructions

1. Open Gmail
2. Open the Show search options form by clicking on the icon at the end of the search field at the top of the screen 
3. In the Size field  ensure Greater than and MB are selected, Type in 10 in the middle field View Image
4. Select the Has attachment checkbox
5. Click Search

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Video Instructions

Instructions

1. Open Google Mail
2. In the search bar at the top, type the following, modifying the dates as required (note how the dates are formatted) after:2018/3/16 before:2020/3/17  View Image
3. This will display emails between these dates
4. Delete the emails you no longer require

Clicking the bin icon does not delete emails, they are placed in your bin and will be deleted after 30 days.  To delete immediately, follow the instructions in the Emptying your bin section.

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Video Instructions

Instructions

1. Select emails by clicking on the checkboxes next to the email
2. Select Bin Icon 
3. Empty your Bin

Viewing more emails on one page

1. The default view is to display 50 emails on each page you can change this to 100 in settings View Image
2. Click on Settings > See all settings 
3. In the General Tab select Maximum page size to 100

Selecting and deleting all the emails on one page

1. Using the dropdown button next to Select Icon and select ALL 
2. Select the Bin Icon 
3. Empty your Bin

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Video Instructions

Instructions

1. Open Google Drive
2. On the Navigation Panel on the left-hand side select Storage, it's towards the bottom
3. From the Type Menu at the top select Forms view image
4. The Forms that you own are displayed
5. Delete the Forms that you no longer require

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Video Instructions

Instructions

1. Open Google Drive
2. On the Navigation Panel on the left-hand side, locate Storage, its towards the bottom 
3. From the Type Menu at the top, select Sites View Image
4. The Sites that you own are displayed
5. Delete the files that you no longer require

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Video Instructions

Instructions

The bin will automatically empty after 30 days but to empty immediately and recover all the space follow these instructions

1. Click the Bin icon in the left menu, you may need to select More after Draft View Image
2. You will see a message at the top of the screen that allows you to Empty Bin now 

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Video instructions

Instructions

Please ensure the following steps are undertaken on a personal device, as you will be downloading a zip file of your images

On a personal device

1. Open a new browser tab and login to your University account
2. Click the Avatar (First letter of your first name) in the top right corner of any Google page
3. Click Manage your Google account
4. Click Data and Privacy
5. Scroll down to 'Data from apps and services that you use'
6. Click Google Photos icon

Under Google Photos, you will see the number of photos you have in Google Photos

1. Click that number
2. Click Albums on the left-hand menu
3. create a new album
4. Name the album and click add photos
5. add the photos as required
6. Click Done
7. Click the 3 dots (top-right)
8. Select download 
9. all images in the album will be downloaded as a zip file

If you would like further assistance with downloading photos please email ittraining@port.ac.uk for a 1:1

There is no facility in Gmail to remove large attachments from emails, however you can save emails as PDF files and then delete the email(s) with the large attachment(s).

**Please note this does not save the attachment, just the email thread.

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Printing an email chain to PDF(conversation view)

If you need to keep email threads and remove the large attachments:

1. Open the email thread
2. Click the printer icon top-right of the message(s) view image
3. In the Destination field (where you can select printers) choose Save as PDF
4. Click on Save
5. Save the file with a meaningful title
6. Navigate to where you want to Save the file and click on Save

Note: business emails must be kept on your university storage (PDFs take up only a little space).