Google tests 5 GB cap for users who skip phone numbers
Personal Tech
Google'll grab your gigs if you don’t cough up your number
New accounts may get only 5 GB instead of 15
Google is testing a storage reduction for new accounts unless a phone number is provided.
The change the Chocolate Factory is trialing affects new accounts, reducing the free storage from 15 GB to a miserly 5 GB unless the user provides a telephone number.
Not all new users are impacted. We created a Gmail account today, and were given the full 15 GB of storage without being required to provide a phone number (although it did ask for one for activation code purposes).
The test is also regional and, it must be emphasized, is just that at this stage – a test. However, it could point to a future where tech vendors demand more data in return for using a 'free' service. Arguably, we're living in that...
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