Google Drive rolled out a hard file limit with no warning

Google has put a hard limit on the number of files Drive users can have in one account, according to a report from Ars Technica. The rollout came without warning and many paying Drive users found themselves suddenly locked out of new file uploads.

As Ars Technica reports, the file limit was not a bug as some Reddit users had suspected. A Google spokesperson confirmed to the publication that the restriction was "a safeguard to prevent misuse of our system in a way that might impact the stability and safety of the system."

While the surprise rollout that's been affecting accounts for months sounds scary, it really isn't. The file limit imposed by Google is up to 5 million. The average user is nowhere near that number in their Drive account, and the company told Ars Technica that "the number of impacted users here is vanishingly small."

However, the surprise rollout came with no public statement from Google. Ars Technica writes that the file limit has been at play since at least February, with users left in the lurch with no explanation. An especially troubling revelation for those who pay large sums of money for Google Workspace plan packages.

For 30TB of storage with Google One, the company charges a whopping $150/month, and with an "enterprise" plan, Google promises "As much storage as you need." Needless to say, a hard limit on the number of individual files undermines this claim.

The company added additional nuance, clarifying to Ars Technica that the limit applies to "how many items one user can create in any Drive," not a "total cap for all files in a drive."

Google did not immediately respond to Mashable's request for comment, but the official Drive account posted the following tweet on Monday evening.

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UPDATE: Apr. 4, 2023, 11:06 a.m. EDT This story has been updated to include Google Drive's tweet about the change.