If your Gmail inbox is overflowing and you’ve reached the limit of the free 15GB storage, there is a simple solution to free up space without deleting your old emails. You can create a second Gmail account as a dedicated archive account and transfer all your old emails there. This is helpful if you have a school or business account that will be deactivated in the future, as you can save your important emails before losing access. The process of transferring your Gmail messages to a new account is straightforward, but the time it takes will depend on the number of emails you have.
The 15GB of storage in Gmail includes not just emails but also files saved in Google Drive and Google Photos. If you have large files in your emails or regularly upload media to Google Photos, your storage can fill up quickly. The quickest solution is to upgrade to a Google One account for more storage, but you can also delete old emails to free up space. Transferring all your emails to a new Gmail account is a more drastic but effective solution to managing your storage space. Before transferring, it’s recommended to back up your emails through Google Takeout.
To transfer your Gmail messages to a new email account, you will need to enable POP for all mail in your original account settings. Then, you can add your original account to the new account and set it to import emails via POP3. During this process, it may be necessary to create a Google app password for syncing the accounts, as the standard password may not work. After syncing, your emails will transfer automatically, but drafts and spam messages won’t be included. You can manually handle drafts and let Gmail handle spam messages, which are automatically deleted after 30 days.
Once your emails are successfully transferred to the new account, you can enjoy having an empty inbox in your original account. It’s important to stop the automatic transfer process and delete any app passwords created during the process. Also, make sure to keep your archive account active by signing in at least once every two years, as Google deletes inactive accounts after that time period. Overall, transferring your Gmail messages to a new account is a practical solution to managing your storage space and organizing your emails effectively.
