> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.siftphotos.pro/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# How to Find and Delete Large Videos in Google Photos
- URL: https://www.siftphotos.pro/blog/find-large-videos-google-photos/
- Published: 2026-10-29T11:09:55.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-29T11:09:55.000Z
- Description: Videos are usually the biggest thing in your Google storage. Here's how to find large videos in Google Photos, back up the keepers, and delete the rest safely.
- Author: Michal Wlosik
- Tags: Guides, Clean-up

**Short answer:** To find large videos in Google Photos, go to one.google.com/storage, open the clean-up view and review **Large photos and videos**, or search "Videos" on photos.google.com and delete the ones you don't need. Google Photos can't sort your library by file size, so a tool like Sift helps: it lists videos over 100 MB biggest first and shows how much storage you'll free before you delete.

Videos are usually the fastest way to win back Google storage. Here is how to find the big ones, decide what to keep, and delete videos from Google Photos safely.

## Why videos eat your Google storage

A photo from a modern phone is a few megabytes. A video is often hundreds. Estimates for recent iPhones put one minute of 4K video at roughly 170 MB at 30 frames per second, and around 400 MB at 60\. A five-minute clip of a school concert in 4K can take more space than a thousand photos.

Free Google storage is 15 GB, shared across Gmail, Drive and Photos, and since June 2021 new videos count toward it in every quality. Storage saver helps a little: it reduces videos over 1080p to 1080p. But long videos stay large either way. More on that in [Storage saver vs Original quality](https://www.siftphotos.pro/blog/google-photos-storage-saver-vs-original-quality/).

The upside: clearing a handful of big videos can free gigabytes in minutes. That can be enough to get Gmail sending and receiving again, restart phone backups, and skip paying for a bigger plan.

## Method 1: Google One storage manager

Google's own clean-up tool lives in Google One and works for free accounts too.

1. Go to [one.google.com/storage](https://one.google.com/storage?ref=siftphotos.pro) and sign in.
2. Click **Clean up space** (the label can vary slightly).
3. Open **Large photos and videos**. Google shows the biggest items from Google Photos.
4. Click an item to preview it. Select the ones you don't want to keep.
5. Delete them. They go to Google Photos' trash and stay there for 30 days, then are permanently deleted. Empty the trash if you need the space now.

This is the best free option for a quick pass. It doesn't let you filter by length or date, and it only shows sizes as you go, not a total for your selection.

## Method 2: Search "Videos" in Google Photos

1. Open [photos.google.com](https://photos.google.com/?ref=siftphotos.pro) on a computer.
2. Type **Videos** in the search bar. Google Photos shows only your videos, newest first.
3. Narrow it down by searching a year or place, like "videos 2023".
4. Hover a video to see its length in the corner. Long ones are usually the biggest. Open one and click the info (i) button to see the file size.
5. Click the checkmark on each video to delete, or Shift-click for a range, then click the trash icon.

It works, but you can't sort by size, so finding the largest files in Google Photos this way means opening videos one by one. In a library with hundreds of videos, that's slow. photos.google.com › Settings › Manage storage also has a review section worth a look.

[![CTA Image](https://www.siftphotos.pro/favicon.png)](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/figoiilkoifjlplpncdhkioalhdcgmbi?ref=siftphotos.pro) 

**See your biggest videos in one list.** Sift sorts every video over 100 MB biggest first and frees up to 1 GB on the free plan, no card or account.

[Find my large videos ](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/figoiilkoifjlplpncdhkioalhdcgmbi?ref=siftphotos.pro) 

## Method 3: Find Google Photos large videos with Sift

Sift is a Chrome extension (and Windows app) that works through the Google Photos website. Its Clean up page has two video groups built in.

1. Add Sift to Chrome and sign in on Google's own page. Sift never sees your password.
2. Open **Clean up**. Look at the **Large videos** tile (every video over 100 MB, biggest first) and the **Long videos** tile (over 5 minutes). Each tile shows how much storage the group would free.
3. Open a group and play anything you're unsure about.
4. Select what to remove: Select all, drag a box, Shift-click or Ctrl-click. The bar shows "N selected · frees X MB".
5. Move them to trash. Sift only moves items to Google Photos' trash and never empties it, so you have 30 days to change your mind.

![Sift Clean up page with Large videos and Long videos tiles for Google Photos](https://www.siftphotos.pro/content/images/2026/10/image-mvtfh0xe.webp)

Sift's Clean up tiles. 1: Large videos, 265 MB to free in this example, 2: Long videos over 5 minutes.

You can also work from the library: filter by **Largest files**, **Videos** and **Larger than 100 MB** to see the same list alongside your photos.

![Sift library filtered to the largest files in Google Photos, videos larger than 100 MB](https://www.siftphotos.pro/content/images/2026/10/image-mvtfh5yc.webp)

Find the largest files in Google Photos. 1: filters set to Largest files, Videos and Larger than 100 MB.

### Ask Sift in plain English

If you remember roughly when, type it. Ask Sift turns a request like "big videos from last summer" into filters for you: videos, a size threshold and a date range. The AI runs on your computer with Chrome's built-in Gemini Nano, so nothing is uploaded. It needs a supported computer.

![Ask Sift query big videos from last summer setting filters in Google Photos](https://www.siftphotos.pro/content/images/2026/10/image-mvtfgxfv.webp)

Ask Sift. 1: the query "big videos from last summer", 2: the filters it set.

## Back up the keepers before you delete

Some big videos are the ones you care about most: a wedding, a first birthday, a grandparent telling a story. You don't have to choose between keeping them and freeing space. Save them to your own drive, then clear them from Google Photos.

- **From photos.google.com:** select the videos and press Shift+D, or ⋮ › Download. Several items arrive as a zip.
- **Google Takeout:** exports everything as zips of 1 to 50 GB. Good for a full archive, slow to prepare.
- **Sift Back up to computer:** downloads full-quality originals into ordinary folders on your PC or an external drive, by month, year or album, dated when they were taken. Later runs only download what's new.

Step-by-step options are in [how to move Google Photos to an external hard drive](https://www.siftphotos.pro/blog/google-photos-to-external-hard-drive/).

## Comparing the three methods

|                                 | Google One storage manager | Search "Videos" | Sift                               |
| ------------------------------- | -------------------------- | --------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| Cost                            | Free                       | Free            | Free up to 1 GB, then $19 one time |
| Sorted by size                  | Largest items shown        | No              | Yes, biggest first                 |
| Filter long videos              | No                         | By eye          | Yes, over 5 minutes                |
| Search by date in plain English | No                         | Partly          | Yes, Ask Sift                      |
| Total freed shown first         | No                         | No              | Yes                                |
| Backup to your own drive        | No                         | Manual download | Yes                                |

Sift Personal is $19 one time for unlimited clean-up and backup on one Google account; Family is $39 for up to five. Google's 100 GB plan is about $20 to $24 a year in the US, every year. See [Sift pricing](https://www.siftphotos.pro/#pricing).

## How to delete videos from Google Photos without losing them on your phone

Deleting a backed-up video in Google Photos also removes it from phones with backup turned on. If you want to keep a video on your phone and only free cloud storage, turn off backup on that phone first, then delete from a computer. After videos, [duplicates](https://www.siftphotos.pro/blog/google-photos-remove-duplicates/) are the next easy win, and the full checklist is in [how to clean up Google storage](https://www.siftphotos.pro/blog/how-to-clean-up-google-storage/).

[![CTA Image](https://www.siftphotos.pro/favicon.png)](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/figoiilkoifjlplpncdhkioalhdcgmbi?ref=siftphotos.pro) 

**Keep the moments, lose the gigabytes.** Back up your important videos to your own drive, then clear the big ones from Google Photos with Sift.

[Try Sift free ](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/figoiilkoifjlplpncdhkioalhdcgmbi?ref=siftphotos.pro) 

## FAQ

### How do I delete videos from Google Photos?

Search "Videos" on photos.google.com, select the ones you don't want with the checkmark, and click the trash icon. They stay in trash for 30 days.

### Can I sort Google Photos by file size?

No. Google Photos has no sort by size. Google One's storage manager shows large photos and videos, and Sift lists everything over 100 MB biggest first.

### How do I find the largest files in Google Photos?

Use one.google.com/storage › Large photos and videos, or filter Sift's library by Largest files.

### How big is a minute of 4K video?

It depends on the phone and settings, but often a few hundred megabytes. Estimates for recent iPhones are about 170 MB at 30 fps and around 400 MB at 60 fps.

### Will deleting a video free space immediately?

Not until it leaves the trash. Empty the trash to free the space now, or wait 30 days.

### Does Storage saver shrink my existing videos?

Not on its own. "Recover storage" in photos.google.com › Settings › Manage storage converts existing Original quality items to Storage saver, which reduces videos over 1080p to 1080p.

Find the big ones, save the ones that matter, and the rest of your library gets lighter fast.

*Sift is independent and not affiliated with Google. Google Photos details checked in October 2026 and may change.*