Phone‑gated Gmail storage

Google is testing new Gmail sign‑ups with a 5GB free storage cap that can be raised to the historical 15GB only after the user supplies a phone number. Reports indicate the test is concentrated in some African countries, and Google's support language now reads 'up to 15GB', signalling a possible permanent shift for new accounts. — Requiring phone verification to unlock baseline cloud storage repositions platform storage from a neutral utility into a conditional product that raises privacy, equity, and regional‑bias questions for millions of potential users.