About changes to storage in Google at IU

On this page:

Critical updates for Google services in 2022
Google Drive and other core services are not going away
About migrating data from Google
Options for use of Google Shared Drives

Critical updates for Google services in 2022

New storage limits

For more than a decade, Google offered the full suite of services at no cost to higher education universities; however, Google has announced placement of caps on storage use, at 30% of the current total data stored in the IU Google instance. As a result, the university must limit the total storage footprint used by all IU services in Google systems to avoid drastically increased costs.

Apps, services, and features that contribute to our overall usage include:

Google Drive and Google Photos for individuals
Google Photos (see Move photos out of your Google at IU account)
Gmail at IU (for students; no action needed since student mail migrated to Exchange Online in May 2022)

As of January 24, 2023, every active Google at IU My Drive account needed to be under 5 GB. For accounts below 4 GB of total storage, a limit of 5 GB was implemented on Friday, August 26, 2022. The limit was put in place to ensure that these accounts stay under 5 GB and do not increase IU's total storage allotment in Google. 85-90% of students, faculty, and staff are affected by this limit.

Also, group accounts can no longer store any data in Google at IU.

Note:

IU YouTube channels are not affected by these changes.

If you go over the limit

If your Google at IU account goes over the 5 GB quota for files that you own, you will not be able to create new content or edit existing content in your Google My Drive. These restrictions will be lifted once you reduce your storage so that it's under the 5 GB limit.

See how much space you're using

To view your total Google at IU usage, go to https://drive.google.com/settings/storage. Be sure you are logged into your Google at IU account, and not a personal Google account. To be sure, you could use a private browser.

If your Google My Drive shows you are over quota and you don't think you should be, you may have files in your Google My Drive owned by other users; refer to Manage files and folders in Google at IU My Drive.

Google Drive and other core services are not going away

Google at IU will remain available to you as long as your account remains under the limit. You will still have access to Google My Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Meet, Google Chat, Jamboard, Chromebook management, and the majority of services Google offers.

Important:

Google has announced the retirement of Jamboard, effective December 31, 2024. You will need to export or migrate any data you want to keep before that date. For details, see Google Jamboard is winding down.

About migrating data from Google

For details, see Migration options for Google at IU My Drive data.

Migration tool for personal data

Learn how you might migrate your personal Google at IU My Drive files to Microsoft OneDrive at IU.

The tool will convert Google file formats to their counterparts in the Microsoft Office suite:

Google Docs to Microsoft Word
Google Sheets to Microsoft Excel workbooks
Google Slides to Microsoft PowerPoint slide decks

Data classification for storage in Google My Drive

Google My Drive is not an appropriate location for institutional data. For more on data privacy, security, and storage, see IU Data Management.

Large files

Files larger than 250 GB cannot be stored in Microsoft Teams/ SharePoint Online. UITS encourages you to work with your local UITS support person to investigate migration options for such files.

Microsoft options for institutional data

Within enterprise IU IT services, Microsoft Teams at IU/ SharePoint Online is the option for institutional files.

Get help determining whether your data is personal or institutional.

Important:

Personal Google Drive accounts, as well as personal accounts in other platforms and services, are not appropriate for storing IU data. Files stored in your Google at IU space that are not personal in nature must remain in a storage platform appropriate for IU data.

Microsoft pricing

All major vendors offer cloud storage as a significant component of their service offerings, and the industry as a whole has shifted toward monetizing storage rather than offering it as a free component associated with other services.

Microsoft is not an exception to this trend. However, while Microsoft is charging significantly for storage, IU has much more space than is being used. The university's existing investment in other Microsoft products also makes this sustainable.

Option for use of Google Shared Drives

Google Shared Drives are now available only as a paid option for departments.