Cloud storage is an essential purchase for many mobile device users as they generate more personal data each year that needs to be stored securely. Google is a common choice, especially for Android users looking for cloud backup and photo storage solutions. With subscriptions ranging from $1.99 per month to $199.99 per month, Google One offers between 100 gigabytes (GB) and 30 terabytes (TB) of storage, with the most expensive plans also including access to premium Gemini AI features. But users can cancel their Google One subscriptions and revert to the free cloud storage available by default on their Google account (15 GB). However, canceling Google One shouldn’t be an impulsive action. Plans should be made to avoid losing full functionality of key Google apps, including Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos, which could be restricted if the account uses more storage than the active plan allows. There is some wiggle room, as Google won’t immediately delete your cloud data when you cancel Google One, but you should be careful.
Before canceling, it’s also important to understand how Google One cloud storage works. A Google account has access to 15 GB of cloud storage (the free tier) by default, shared between Google apps including Gmail and Google Photos. The same goes for a premium subscription. For example, the Basic tier ($1.99 per month) includes 100 GB of storage available to the user across all apps. Google Photos will use storage space from this 100 GB pool without any specific limitations.
Additionally, the Basic plan supports Family Sharing with up to five people, which is something to keep in mind when deciding to cancel a paid subscription. Anyone sharing this Google One plan will be affected.
What happens when you cancel
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To cancel your Google One premium subscription, you will need to go to the Google One app on your device and cancel your subscription. Google will stop billing you once you cancel the subscription, but Google One storage will remain available to you and your family until the next billing cycle. Google will generally not offer refunds for unused periods except in a few selected countries.
Losing access to Google One storage will also mean you lose additional benefits included in the subscription, including premium access to AI, if available on your paid plan. Additionally, you will lose Google Home Premium, Google Health Premium, and YouTube Premium if these are included in the subscription. Your account will revert to the default 15 GB of storage after the subscription expires. Family members will receive the same downgrade.
If your Google One storage usage exceeds 15 GB, your data will still be available to you so you can save it to a computer before deleting it from the cloud. However, as long as the data exceeds 15 GB, Google will automatically restrict your Google apps. In Gmail, for example, you will not be able to send or receive messages. Google Photos will not allow you to save additional photos and videos. If you have files in Google Drive, you won’t be able to create new documents, sync files, or upload new ones. Restrictions will be lifted once you delete enough files that Google account storage usage drops below 15 GB. Finally, going over the quota for two years can trigger an automatic data deletion.
Precautions to take before canceling
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Some Google One users may have received free access to Google One with their Pixel or other Android phone purchase and do not wish to pay for the subscription beyond this extended free trial. Others may switch to a Google One alternative from another provider or simply decide to reduce digital subscription costs. Either way, you should plan your cancellation to ensure you don’t experience any disruptions in Gmail and Google Photos and back up all your data.
Before canceling, you should consider backing up your cloud data to local storage or moving it to another cloud provider. After that, you can delete most files from Google One, which may include Google Photos content, to reduce cloud storage usage to less than 15 GB. You should also inform your family members sharing your Google One subscription to take similar steps. They will also need to reduce their use of Google One storage to avoid restrictions.
Instead of canceling, you can consider downgrading from a more expensive Google One plan to a cheaper option. But even in this scenario, you need to make sure your account doesn’t use more cloud storage than the cheaper Google One subscription to avoid restrictions in Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos.
