A test begins in which storage capacity is reduced to just 5GB instead of 15GB when you don't add a phone number when creating a Google account

Google is testing a new policy for newly created accounts in some regions, mainly in Africa.

Accounts without a phone number may be limited to 5GB of free storage instead of the usual 15GB.

Google says the test is meant to encourage phone-number verification and improve account security and recovery.

The change could affect Gmail and Google Photos users and reduce abuse from low-verification accounts.