Storage: what counts, and how to free space

Storage: what counts, and how to free space

Everything you upload has to live somewhere, and that somewhere is metered.

How much you get

For most people 1 GB is a long way away. It becomes a real constraint if you upload a lot of high-resolution phone photos, or keep every version of every generated PDF.

What counts

Anything with a file behind it:

• Files — everything you upload: scans, photos, PDFs, exports
• Generated PDFs — the filled documents my-id.ca produces
• Document versions — earlier generated copies kept alongside the current one
• Voice recordings
• Checklist PDFs — documents uploaded against a checklist shared with you
• Chat attachments — files sent in a conversation with a business

What does not meaningfully count

• Profile fields. Text. Thousands of fields are smaller than one photo.
• Notes. Also text.
• Calendar events, life events, sharing history. Records, not files.

This is worth internalising: the profile — the part doing the actual work — is essentially free. Storage pressure comes from the pictures.

Checking your usage

Settings → Storage shows used against quota, a percentage, and a bar. Past 85% it turns amber and warns you.

Two buttons sit underneath: upgrade, which takes you to plans, and request more space, if you would rather ask than upgrade.

You can also just ask the AI assistant — "how much storage am I using?"

When you run out

Uploads are refused with a storage-full message. Nothing already stored is deleted, and nothing stops working — you simply cannot add more until there is room.

Freeing space

In rough order of how much they return per minute spent:

1. Delete duplicate scans. Most people photograph the same ID three times looking for a good shot and keep all three.
2. Delete superseded document versions. If a form was regenerated five times, the first four are rarely needed.
3. Delete files you have already extracted. Once the values from an old utility bill are stored as fields, the photo may have done its job — although keep anything you may need to show someone.
4. Photograph at a sane resolution. A 12-megapixel photo of a single page is roughly ten times the size it needs to be. A scanning app that outputs PDF is smaller and more legible.

What to keep regardless

Do not delete to save space if the document is the kind you may have to produce as evidence: identity documents, signed agreements, certificates, anything with a stamp. Upgrading is cheaper than re-obtaining an official document.

Related

• Files and My Documents
• Documents, Files, Templates, and Notes — which is which
• What you can store in your profile