Google Drive Has a Hidden File Limit

Google Drive is enforcing a new file limit for the total number of files you can store on an account. 9to5Google reports: Some Google Drive users have recently noticed a message on their accounts which says that the account has reached its "creation limit" and won't accept any new files until existing ones are deleted. The issue was first highlighted by Ars Technica, and appears to be enforced for both free accounts as well as those subscribed to Google Workspace and Google One. The issue was flagged by users on Reddit as well as Google's Issue Tracker and appears to have been put in place around mid-February. The file limit in place puts a hard ceiling on the total number of files stored in Google Drive at five million items. This limit ignores file size and type, and is a simple count of the number of files in your online storage bucket. This also includes items stored in the trash (which is automatically emptied every 30 days). When that limit is reached (or if the account has already exceeded it), Google Drive shows the following message: "This account has exceeded the creation limit of 5 million items. To create more items, move items to the trash and delete them forever." One user reports having seven million items in their account prior to the limit being enforced, with their account no longer able to add any new files. Effectively, that user and anyone else in the same situation are locked out of their accounts, with the files stored now in a "read-only" mode. Google appears to have confirmed the limit to some users via support, but has yet to speak out publicly about it.