How to find "unused files" that take up space on Google Drive

Written By mobilephonebrand

Lifehacker [Japan Version] Reprinted from the article published on August 31, 2021

For some reason, Google Drive is almost always flooding ... Your problem may be due to a large number of "orphan" files secretly taking up storage space.

An orphan file is created when the parent directory has been deleted, but the file itself has not been deleted.

For example, suppose you upload a document to your friend's Google Drive folder. And after that, even if your friend deletes the folder and you can't directly access the files you uploaded, they will remain in your storage and work against your data limit.

This is a rare phenomenon, but with the termination of Google Play Music, the probability that files such as music and podcasts that were not properly deleted before the end of the service will become "deemed" has dramatically increased. This is reported in this reddit thread.

Fortunately, it is possible to find and delete at least some of these "unused files".

How to find / delete unused files in Google Drive

These "Orphan Files" will appear in the "Storage" list of Google Drive.

But without knowing the names of all the other files in the drive, it's hard to tell which files are "orphans".

Googleドライブの容量を奪う「使っていないファイル」の見つけ方

It is this trick introduced in "Workspace Tips" that demonstrates its power.

With this trick, you can find and delete (or restore) "Orphan Files" that clutter your Google Drive storage.

1. Access Google Drive in your browser or open the "Google Drive" mobile app.

2. Enter the following string in the search bar: is: unorganized owner: me

3. Search. If there is an orphan file, it will be displayed.

4. Right-click on the orphan file. If you select "Add to My Drive", the orphan files will be returned to the drive. Select "Delete" to put it in the Trash.

5. If you want to delete the orphaned files and regain storage space, go to the Trash folder. Then click on the file and select "Permanently Delete" to permanently delete the file from your drive and Google storage.

I tried this procedure with both "Drive" accounts I have and found an orphan file worth 4.6GB.

So even if you have plenty of storage space, it's definitely worth searching for orphan files.

Thanks to Lifehacker reader Jamie White for telling us!

Source: Reddit, Workspace Tips

Translate: Galileo