Shared Drives Storage Limits

Shared drives are special folders in Google Drive that you can use to store, search, and access files with a team. Shared drive files belong to the team instead of an individual. Even if members leave, the files stay in the shared drive so your team can keep sharing information and work anywhere, from any device.

Because files are owned by the team and not an individual, Shared drives have their own storage quotas.

Storage Quotas for Shared Drives

As of April 24, 2023, Shared drives have the following quotas by default:

  • Shared drives within UNLVMail (@unlv.edu): 25 GB
  • Shared drives within Rebelmail (@unlv.nevada.edu): 10 GB

Managing Shared Drive Storage

Checking Usage

When a Shared drive has reached 80% of its storage limit, a warning will appear:

Screenshot of storage warning from Google Drive indicating a Shared drive has reached at least 80% of storage

When this warning appears, neither OIT nor Google will take any action. However, if you continue to add more content and run out of space, Drive will notify you when a file cannot be uploaded due to exhausted storage:

Screenshots of warning messages from Drive that a file cannot be uploaded due to not having enough storage in a Shared drive

You can also check the amount of storage a Shared drive is using within Google Drive at any time:

  1. Go to Google Drive
  2. Select Shared drives

    Screenshot of Google Drive with Shared drives highlighted
     
  3. Select the Shared drive to check
  4. In the top right, select the View details  button
  5. In the Details tab, scroll to the bottom to check the current storage limit and usage

    Screenshot of a Shared drive details pane with storage usage highlighted

Cleaning Up Shared Drives

If your Shared drive is reaching its storage limit, we recommend cleaning up the Shared drive by deleting unnecessary files.

To delete files within a Shared Drive, follow these instructions.

  • You will need to be a manager or the content manager of the Shared Drive.
  • You have up to 30 days to restore any deleted files from the trash of the Shared Drive.

To delete an entire Shared Drive, follow these instructions.

  • You will need to be a manager of the Shared Drive.
  • A Shared Drive must be empty before you can delete it, and you cannot undo the action.

Requesting Additional Storage

If you have a Shared Drive that is approaching or over the storage limit, and you have followed best practices to remove unnecessary files, you can request a storage increase from the IT Help Desk by selecting the Storage Increase Request option in the Related Service panel on this page. You will need to provide information on what types of content are being stored. All requests are approved on a case-by-case basis.

Need Additional Help?

For additional assistance, please visit the Google Workspace knowledge base for additional articles or select a Related Service to submit a support ticket. You can also contact the IT Help Desk.

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