Why is 3.5 GB needed for the Google Drive app on my phone?

akuki

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3.5 GB for Google Drive app on phone

Why does the Drive app use so much space on my Lollipop N5? All the pics, Play media, and anything else I can think of is 65% of my Drive space, and is not on the phone. Tia for some insight.

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B. Diddy

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Are you saying that you have 3.5 GB of data stored in your Google Drive, or that Google Drive is taking up 3.5 GB of your phone's Internal Storage? Show us a screenshot of what you mean.
 

akuki

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... or that Google Drive is taking up 3.5 GB of your phone's Internal Storage? Show us a screenshot of what you mean.

Yes, Drive takes up 3.5 GB of phone's Internal Storage. Should I be deleting each phone app's "Data"?" "Cache"? I haven't been, because I wasn't sure. I do use CCleaner app. Thanks.

Settings, Storage, Apps, Drive:

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B. Diddy

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Open the Drive app, swipe in from the left, and tap Settings. What happens if you clear the cached documents from that menu?

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Javier P

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Check something in Drive. Open the lateral menu and tap "on device". That will show the files locally stored. Maybe you should try to sync / upload your files and keep as little as possible "on device".
 

akuki

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Check something in Drive. Open the lateral menu and tap "on device". That will show the files locally stored. Maybe you should try to sync / upload your files and keep as little as possible "on device".

Drive's "On Device" is empty. I was trying to free up space on the phone, and I can't figure out t he above Drive volume.

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Javier P

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Drive's "On Device" is empty. I was trying to free up space on the phone, and I can't figure out t he above Drive volume.

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That's weird.

I tried looking for the Drive folder with ES and found nothing. It can be a bit radical but maybe you'll need to clear data or even uninstall drive to get that space back.

If you decide to do that make sure you have ES or a similar app to check that no file is left after uninstall.
 

akuki

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That's weird.

I tried looking for the Drive folder with ES and found nothing. It can be a bit radical but maybe you'll need to clear data or even uninstall drive to get that space back.

If you decide to do that make sure you have ES or a similar app to check that no file is left after uninstall.

So if I uninstall Drive app on phone, my files are safe (since I also use it on the laptop)? Where do I check for residual Drive app files to delete in ES, before reinstalling Drive app? Just anything that's named Drive?

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Javier P

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All your files should be stored in the cloud, so no worries there. You'll need to log in again and set you preferences.

When you uninstall an app ES automatically checks that no residual file is left behind. If that happens a little menu will pop up right after the uninstall finishes for you to confirm delete.
 

akuki

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If it helps, here are my ES "Local" files (4 screenshots)...

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akuki

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What about multiple Google accts?

I checked each in Google Settings app for associated apps - no Drive app listed. How do I find my additional Drive accts? I would only have files for them on the device by accident, but it might be possible.

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akuki

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On Drive app, Settings shows option to clear cache (which I had done), and that cache size is set to 100 MB. No catch reading there.

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