Information Technology Services

Cloud Storage

Brandeis has two options for cloud storage: Google Drive and Box. Google Drive and Box are available to Brandeis community members with a Brandeis username and password. These applications allow users to view and edit documents online with other users.

GOOGLE DRIVE        Box

Many features of Google Drive and Box are similar; we recommend using the application that's best for your team and best for the type of information being stored. Box is strongly recommended for storing and sharing private, confidential, or personally identifiable information (including FERPA data). Google Drive's tools (Docs, Sheets, Slides) excels at collaborative editing (simultaneous editing by multiple users).

Both applications use folder structures and allow users to set permissions to limit access to certain individuals or to display to everyone (within Brandeis and externally). Google Drive and Box allow comments and feedback, and they have tools available to sync to your Drive or Box account to work offline on Windows, Macs, or mobile devices.

You can learn more about Google Drive and Box through our informational pages and tutorials on their websites.

Storing Files in Google Drive and Box

Google Drive and Google Workspace Applications

You can create files in Google Drive or upload files to Google Drive from your computer or device. Google Drive has Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms among other applications. You can share these documents with other collaborators and edit together in real time. Visit Google Workspace Learning Center for tips and answers to common questions about using Google Workspace applications.

You can set permissions for files and folders in Google Drive by

• Viewer (only has access to view a file - cannot make changes to a file)
• Commenter (can view and make comments on a file)
• Editor (can view, comment, and make changes to a file)

Box

You can create files in Box using Microsoft Office applications (such as Word or Excel) or Google applications (such as Docs or Sheets). You can also upload files from your device into Box for storage. Box offers a desktop sync tool called Box Drive that allows users to create, edit, and save files offline in Box folders.

You can set permissions for folders in Box by:

• Co-owner (all the same security as the original file owner)
• Editor (can view, download, comment, and make changes to files; cannot set security permissions)
• Viewer uploader (can download, view, and make comments to a file or folder)
• Previewer uploader (can view a preview of a file and add comments - cannot download)
• Viewer (can download file and add comments)
• Previewer (can view the preview of a file and add comments)
• Uploader (can upload files to a folder and create subfolders - cannot view previews or files)

Cloud Storage Limits

Google Storage

Google storage limits includes Gmail, Photos, and Google Drive. You can review how much storage you have available by following these instructions.

Effective September 30, 2025, Brandeis will implement storage limits for Brandeis Google accounts. These limits do not affect Shared Drives. Carol Fierke and Stew Uretsky sent communications to the Brandeis community on June 27, 2025 announcing these changes. As of October 1, the following storage limits will be implemented:

• Faculty: 75GB
• Staff: 25GB
• Academic Affiliates: 10GB
• Students: 10GB
• Contingent Workers: 1GB

Reducing Storage

Reducing storage in Gmail, Google Drive, and Photos can feel overwhelming. Here are some best practices:

Gmail

The best way to reduce email storage is to individually review and delete unnecessary emails. Increase your efficiency by taking the following steps:

• Search for large attachments. Removing large attachments from your email can reduce the amount of storage in your Gmail account. (Find Emails with Large Attachments PDF)
• Search email for outdated information. You can search your Gmail account by keywords, date, sender, size and other search terms. For instance, if you have completed a project and wish to delete the emails related to the project, you can search by the project name. (Searching Emails PDF)
• Delete by label. Use Gmail's filter feature to create a filter or label and then delete the items within the label with minimal clicks or searching. (Creating Email Filters PDF, Deleting Emails Using Labels PDF)
• Review your sent folder. Gmail sent folders will sometimes retain copies of emails of emails you have already deleted. You cannot mass delete emails from your sent folder. You can only delete emails on a page by page basis. For example, if your email shows 50 emails a page, you will only be able to check a box to delete 50 emails at a time. We strongly recommend you review your sent folder, as many emails are being stored there.
• Unsubscribe to mailing lists and newsletters. If you are no longer participating in mailing lists or reading newsletters, unsubscribing will decrease the amount of emails you receive and therefore need to delete.
• Regularly empty your trash and spam folders. Set aside time once a week to review your spam emails and delete them. Empty your trash once a week to reduce the amount of storage in your account.

Reviewing your email takes time. We recommend you take an hour a day to review older email throughout this process.

Google Drive

Your Google Drive storage is used or files you’ve uploaded, like PDFs, images, and videos, as well as documents you’ve created with Docs, Sheets, Slides, and other Google apps. To free up space, you should identify and delete the larges files you no longer need.

• Sort by size. You can sort your Google Drive files by size. Access your Google drive storage page (drive.storage.com/storage/quota) to see all your files sorted from largest to smallest; this is the most efficient way to find what's using the most space.
• Move files to Shared Drives. Google Shared Drives are not "owned" by an individual user and the files in Shared Drives do not count towards individual storage limits. You can read more about Shared Drives.
•  Empty the trash folder. Deleted files remain in your trash bin until you have permanently removed them by emptying the trash.

Once you've deleted and moved files, it will take 24 hours for your storage amounts to update in Google.

Google Storage Help Hours

ITS is hosting drop in sessions to help you manage your Google Storage. These sessions are intended to provide assistance with creating Shared Drives, moving files, searching for large emails and creating filters. These sessions will not address the storage policy; please email storagepolicy@brandeis.edu for questions about the storage limits.

 

Box Storage

At this time, Brandeis has not implemented storage limits in Box. We recommend you review your Box files on a regular basis to ensure that your files are up to date and accessible.

To review your available Box storage, follow these instructions.

Comparing Google Drive and Box

*If you are unsure about sharing sensitive data, please consult ITS Security (security@brandeis.edu).

Google Storage Quota FAQ