The scariest thing about Google Drive isn't running out of storage — it's what I've stopped thinking about

Google Drive is my favorite cloud storage system. While 15GB isn't the absolute most you can get from a free cloud storage provider, I use the company's cloud storage primarily because of its convenience.

However, I wish the free cloud storage were more on Google Drive, allowing me to store more photos, documents, and other files. Many of my friends keep ranting about it, as running out of storage is the scariest part of Google Drive to them.

It's not my hope, but I believe Google will increase it from 15GB to something higher to offer more space for free users sometime in the future. I'm not too bothered about this, though.

For anyone who keeps ranting only about what they perceive as "less cloud storage" on Google Drive, you have something far more important to worry about on the platform.

I see it differently. In my opinion, the scariest thing about Google Drive isn't running out of storage — it's what I've stopped thinking about.

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By  Roland Udvarlaki

Google Drive remembers things long after you've forgotten them

It all started with a cleanup job. I had to do it because I was nearing the 15GB quota, but I didn't expect that the cleanup job would forever change how I see Google Drive.

I struggled to find anything I no longer needed, so I randomly visited the Shared tab, which includes files someone shared with you and the ones you opened via a shared link.

These files do not take up space in Google Drive, but you can access them whenever you want, until the person who shared them removes you from viewing the file.

On the Shared tab in Google Drive, I saw documents that I shared with people that I no longer talk to. Some of those people shared files with me years ago on Google Drive, and it was even more embarrassing when I found them.

I found the older version of me, and it was an unpleasant feeling, if I put it mildly. I found it even more disturbing that I had lost my self-control and felt a dangerous urge to open those shared files from people I don't keep in touch with.

I spent almost half an hour reading those documents. Since those files are years old, they never really showed up on the Google Drive home page, so it's quite natural for me to forget about them.

It didn't take long to remove myself and stop having those files on my Google Drive. I opened the file, tapped the Collaborator icon in the upper-right corner, selected my profile, tapped my name, and selected the Remove option.

To stop giving access to files to certain people, I revoked the permission by following a few simple steps. I tapped the three-dot menu button on the file, selected the Share option, selected the person of the profile I no longer want to share, selected the name, and then tapped Remove.

This was the first time I conducted such a cleanup exercise as this, and I know many people who don't even know the steps to stop sharing documents in Google Drive.

I knew about it from the day I started using Google Drive, but I forgot to use the feature at the right time, and I paid the price.

Google Drive can surface old files in seconds

I wish I had accidentally typed keywords that would've accidentally led me to those files, because that would have forced me to do the cleanup job much earlier.

No matter how old they are, Google Drive's search capability is powerful enough to bring those up in front of you if you type the right keyword.

I would still have gone through the pain because I no longer remember the names of those files and who shared them with me. So, I would have opened them anyway out of curiosity.

I should have done this cleanup job much earlier, preferably when I decided to stop talking to those harmful people. This would have made things a lot less painful and less embarrassing.

However, it is surprisingly difficult to track what you've shared, what others have shared with you, and how those relationships have evolved over the years.

I'll keep reminding myself to evaluate my Google Drive every 6 months

This was quite an experience. But, a bad one. I'll never make the same mistake again.

This is why I created an event in Google Calendar to remind me to evaluate my Google Drive every six months. This event will repeat every six weeks, so there is zero chance of forgetting about the evaluation.

This is my plan to prevent any such embarrassment in the future. I also recommended everyone in my friend circle and my family to do the same.