Google Now Requires Phone Number to Claim Full 15GB Free Storage for New Accounts in Select Regions

Google has started requiring new account holders in certain regions to link a phone number in order to receive the full 15GB of free storage shared across Gmail , Google Drive, and Google Photos . Accounts without a linked phone number are limited to 5GB. In mid-March, Google quietly updated its wording around the included storage, replacing the previous unconditional statement of 15GB with a "up to" 15GB.