Google Drive removes file limit following backlash
Google has rolled back a file limit that it recently snuck into its Drive cloud storage product.
The company began restricting the maximum number of files a single user could upload to Google Drive to 5 million sometime in February 2023.
It argued the change was necessary to safeguard against misuse of the Google Drive system, which could negatively impact its stability and safety.
“This limit does not impact the vast majority of our users’ ability to use their Google storage,” the spokesperson said.
However, in a post on Twitter on Tuesday, Google said it was rolling back the change and exploring alternative approaches to ensure a great user experience.
The company also assured if it needed to make any changes, it would communicate them to users in advance this time.
Following the file limit update, several users discovered they could not upload more files to their cloud storage despite having space available.
Adding to their frustration was that Google initially did not provide them with an explanation for why they were unable to upload additional files.
They only knew something was not working because they were presented with a two-word prompt: “Upload error”.
Following complaints from several customers, Google changed the error prompt to explain the issue was due to the users reaching a 5-million item limit.
Publications like Ars Technica criticised Google for not communicating the change beforehand and neglecting to include it in any support documentation or marketing material for the plans.
They also pointed out that users would be able to upload much more than 5 million files without coming anywhere near their capacity limit.
On Google’s top-end Workspace plan with a maximum of 30TB storage, a user could upload billions of kilobytes-sized files before filling up their storage.
The limit was particularly troublesome for enterprise users with mission-critical systems backing up data to Google Drive.
One business reported it could not upload any more files despite using only 2TB of their 20TB plan.
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