It's time to stop ignoring that storage full warning in your Gmail inbox. Google's free 15GB storage fills up quickly with emails, Google Drive files, and Google Photos. If you've been hoarding thousands of messages, the solution may be simpler than you think—transfer them to a separate archive account using Gmail's POP3 tools. However, this option is about to disappear.

Why the Urgency?

Google is ending support for the POP3 protocol later this year. New users lost access to POP3 in the first quarter of 2026, but existing users can still use it until the shutdown. Once POP3 is gone, transferring emails between accounts will require more complex methods or third-party tools. That's why now is the time to act.

How Much Data Can You Store?

The 15GB free storage is shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. Large attachments, photos, and documents consume space quickly. When the storage fills up, you cannot send or receive emails until you free up space. You could upgrade to Google One (100GB for $20/year), but why pay for old emails? Deleting messages manually is tedious. The nuclear option is to move everything to a new account.

Step-by-Step Transfer Process

Before starting, back up your emails using Google Takeout. On a test account with 75,000 messages, the download took about two hours. After backup, follow these steps:

From your old Gmail account:

• Go to Settings → See all settings → Forwarding POP/IMAP tab.
• Select "Enable POP for all mail".
• Under "When messages are accessed with POP", choose "delete Gmail's copy" to automatically remove them after transfer.
• Save changes.

Create a new Gmail account (your archive):

• Log into the new account → Settings → See all settings → Accounts and Import tab.
• Next to "Check mail from other accounts", click "Add a mail account".
• Enter your old Gmail address, select "Import emails from my other account (POP3)".
• Enter the password. If standard password fails, create a Google app password (requires 2-Step Verification) at myaccount.google.com/apppasswords.
• Use port 995, check boxes for SSL, label incoming messages, and archive them (skip Inbox).
• Click Add Account. Transfer may take hours or days depending on volume.

What to Expect After Transfer

Once completed, your old Gmail will place all transferred messages in Trash. Empty Trash manually (75,000 messages took about an hour). In testing, storage usage dropped from 12GB to 0.66GB. Not all messages transfer—Drafts and Spam are not included. Handle those separately. After transfer, stop the automatic process by deleting the linked account in your new Gmail's settings. Also delete the app password if you created one.

Important Notes

Transferred messages are labeled and archived in the new account. You can keep the archive account active by logging in at least once every two years; otherwise Google may delete it. This method works now, but once POP3 is gone, you'll need alternatives like manual forwarding or third-party migration tools. Don't procrastinate—reclaim your 15GB of free storage today.

Source: CNET News