Managing Storage and Quotas

StretchDrive storage is shared across your whole organization and measured against your plan. This guide explains how quotas work, how to read your usage, and what to do when you're running low.

How much storage you have

Your storage limit is set by your StretchSuite plan and applies to the entire organization, not per person:

Everyone in the workspace draws from this shared pool, so usage reflects the combined footprint of all members' files.

Reading the storage meter

The Storage card near the top of Drive shows a live meter — for example 0 B of 15 GB used. It goes up as files are uploaded and down when files are permanently removed. Note that soft-deleting a file (moving it to Trash) releases its space right away, but the item still lives in Trash until you permanently delete or empty it.

What counts toward your quota

• Uploaded files and all of their retained versions count toward usage. Because each new version is kept, a file you've replaced several times uses the space of all its versions.
• Items in Trash have already had their space released, so they don't hold your live usage up — but permanently deleting them is what truly reclaims the storage.

What happens when you hit the limit

StretchDrive checks your quota before an upload begins. If an upload would push you over the limit, it's blocked with a clear "Drive quota would be exceeded" message that shows how much you've used and how much you tried to add — so you find out up front, not after a long transfer.

Freeing up space

When you're close to the cap:

1. Find large or obsolete files. Sort or search to locate big items you no longer need.
2. Delete them — they move to Trash and their space is released from live usage.
3. Empty Trash (or permanently delete individual items) to reclaim the storage for good. This is the step that fully frees quota.
4. Prune old versions by keeping only what you need — remember every retained version of a file counts.

Upgrading for more space

If your team consistently needs more than the current plan allows, moving from Core (15 GB) to Pro (50 GB) or Agency (150 GB) raises the quota for the whole organization. Plan changes are managed in your StretchSuite billing settings by a workspace owner.

A realistic example

Your agency on the Core plan is at 14.2 GB of 15 GB used and a new upload fails with a quota error. You open Drive, switch to List view, and spot an Archived Renders folder full of old video exports totaling several gigabytes. You confirm they're backed up elsewhere, delete the folder (usage drops immediately), then open Trash and empty it to reclaim the space permanently. Usage falls to 9 GB of 15 GB and uploads work again. Because your team keeps growing, the owner later upgrades to Pro for 50 GB of headroom.

Tips

• Check the Storage meter before large uploads so you're never blocked mid-transfer.
• Remember that retained versions consume space — clean up history on files you replace often.
• Emptying Trash is the only step that fully reclaims quota after deleting.
• Store rarely-used archives outside Drive, or upgrade the plan if your team routinely needs more room.
• Since storage is shared org-wide, coordinate cleanups so everyone benefits.

FAQ

Is the quota per user or per organization? Per organization — everyone shares the same pool.

I deleted files but my plan usage barely moved. Deleting releases live usage, but you must empty Trash to reclaim the space permanently; also check whether large versions are still retained.

Does a shared drive count against my personal storage? Storage is measured at the organization level, so all files — personal, shared folders, and shared drives — draw from the same org quota.

How do I get more storage? Upgrade the plan (Core → Pro → Agency) in billing settings; a workspace owner can do this.