New Google accounts may only get 5GB free storage — unless you link a phone number

Google appears to be altering the deal on free storage for new Google accounts. Previously, everyone who signed up for a new account got 15GB of storage. Now, you may get stuck with a measly 5GB unless you link and verify your phone number.

As you can see in the screenshot above, Google attributes the change to making sure "storage is added only once per person." However, it's easy to imagine the current memory and storage crunch as an unspoken motivation.

That isn't the only evidence, as a Google support page recently updated its language on free storage. What previously promised a full "15 GB" when creating an account now says "up to 15 GB." Wayback Machine archives reveal that Google changed its wording sometime between February 4 and March 23.

This won't change much for most people. In most cases, you have no ...