--- title: "Check Your Storage: free tool to size data | Firevault" url: https://fire-vault.com/learn/check-your-storage description: "Find out how much data you have across your devices and cloud accounts before choosing an Offline Secure Storage® vault sized to last." lang: en-GB --- Storage guide # Check how much storage you actually use Before choosing a vault, find out how much data you hold across your devices and cloud accounts. Your Offline Secure Storage® vault needs to last 3 years, so you need the full picture. - Mobile - Desktop - Cloud accounts 01 Mobile devices ## Phones and tablets Start with the devices you carry every day. Both Android and iOS report usage clearly in a few taps. ### Android Phones & Tablets 1. 1 Open Settings 2. 2 Tap Storage (or Battery and device care → Storage) 3. 3 View 'Used' and 'Available' at the top 4. 4 Tap categories to see what is taking space Check both internal storage and any SD card separately. ### iPhones & iPads 1. 1 Open Settings → General → iPhone Storage 2. 2 Wait for the bar chart to load, it shows usage by category 3. 3 Scroll down to see per-app storage 4. 4 Note the total 'Used' figure at the top Photos and Messages are usually the biggest consumers. 02 Computers and drives ## Desktops, laptops and external drives Check your primary machine, then every external drive, USB stick, and NAS used for backups. ### Windows PCs 1. 1 Open Settings → System → Storage 2. 2 View the usage bar for your main drive (C:) 3. 3 Click 'Show more categories' for a full breakdown 4. 4 Check additional drives in 'View storage usage on other drives' Do not forget to check the Downloads and Desktop folders, they grow fast. ### Mac Computers 1. 1 Click the Apple menu → About This Mac 2. 2 Click Storage (or More Info → Storage on newer macOS) 3. 3 View the coloured bar showing what is using space 4. 4 Hover over each section for exact figures System Data can be large, it includes caches and Time Machine snapshots. ### External Hard Drives 1. 1 Connect the drive to your computer 2. 2 Windows: Open File Explorer → right-click the drive → Properties 3. 3 Mac: Open Finder → right-click the drive → Get Info 4. 4 Note the 'Used' value Check every external drive, USB stick, and NAS you use for backups. 03 Cloud services ## Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive and OneDrive Cloud accounts are often the largest, and easiest to forget. Check each one you actively use. ### Dropbox 1. 1 Go to dropbox.com and sign in 2. 2 Click your avatar → Settings → Plan 3. 3 View 'Space used' at the top of the page If you use Dropbox on multiple devices, check for 'Smart Sync' files that only exist in the cloud. ### iCloud 1. 1 iPhone/iPad: Settings → [Your Name] → iCloud → Manage Account Storage 2. 2 Mac: System Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → Manage 3. 3 View the coloured bar and per-app breakdown iCloud backups of your devices can be surprisingly large. ### Google Drive 1. 1 Go to drive.google.com 2. 2 Click the Storage link in the left sidebar (or visit one.google.com/storage) 3. 3 View your total usage across Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos Google Photos in 'Original quality' count against your quota. ### OneDrive 1. 1 Go to onedrive.com and sign in 2. 2 Click the gear icon → OneDrive Settings → More settings 3. 3 View 'Storage metrics' showing used vs available If you use Microsoft 365, check both personal and work OneDrive accounts. ## Now add it all up Total up the storage used across every device and cloud service. Then factor in growth, your vault needs to last **3 years**. A good rule of thumb: take your current total and add 30 to 50 percent for 3 years of growth. ## Structured data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://fire-vault.com/#organization", "name": "Firevault", "legalName": "Firevault Limited", "url": "https://fire-vault.com", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://fire-vault.com/logo.png", "width": 200, "height": 60 }, "foundingDate": "2025-03", "description": "Protect what matters with Offline Secure Storage and control what moves with Control by Firevault. 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