Google appears to be scaling back one of its most generous consumer offerings, with some new users now receiving just 5GB of free cloud storage instead of the long-standing 15GB allocation across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos.

The change was first spotted by Reddit users and later reported by publications including 9to5Google and Android Authority. It appears tied to phone number verification during account setup.

Under the new process, users who create a Google account without linking a mobile number are reportedly capped at 5GB of storage. Users who verify a phone number can unlock the full 15GB for free.

A setup prompt reportedly states: “Your account includes 5GB of storage. Unlock 15GB storage at no cost by using your phone number.”

Google has not formally announced the change, but the company has quietly updated wording on its support pages. References previously stating every Google account “comes with 15GB of cloud storage” now say users receive “up to 15GB”.

The wording update reportedly first appeared around March this year.

Google is positioning the move as an anti-abuse measure designed to stop users and bots from repeatedly creating accounts to gain additional free storage. Phone verification allows the company to limit the free allocation to “once per person”.

The rollout does not appear to be global. Google has reportedly confirmed the reduced storage allocation is currently being tested in selected regions.

Existing Google accounts do not appear to be affected.

The timing is significant, coming shortly after Google expanded storage for AI Pro subscribers from 1TB to 5TB. Industry observers say rising infrastructure demands from AI services are increasing pressure on cloud storage providers to reduce free offerings.

If rolled out broadly, Google’s free storage tier would effectively match Apple’s long-criticised 5GB iCloud limit.