Is Google running out of storage? In the last 18 months they've seemed to complete a 180 degree turn on their "store all the things" policy.
From https://support.google.com/a/answer/139019: "Google Workspace for Education does not collect student data for advertising purposes.
We scan Gmail to keep users’ mail secure. Scanning includes virus and spam protection and is 100% automated. We scan all incoming email, relevant search results, and features, such as Gmail Priority Inbox."
(Disclaimer: I work at Google, but not on Workspace or Ads - I don't represent these teams.)
That doesn't mean that they don't collect data for other purposes, which include analytics and tracking on how to change the service and said data is still valuable.
* Google Drive unlimited for businesses has shut down.
* Google Drive unlimited for education has shut down.
* Google Drive files are now deleted if you've not accessed your account recently (no definition of recent)
They've been very clear that it's 2 years, and they will notify you before they remove anything.
Ex: see all the Google Photos competitors who are doing the "I told you so" roadshow when they announced the end of unlimited storage for free. Other apps couldn't compete and/or died out, and so with market share in hand Google could "raise" prices.
Further, Google doesn't hide that they want to grow "services" revenue, and had mentioned it in previous investor calls. I'm guessing they're seeing the success Tim Cook has had with diversifying revenue and growing services like crazy, and now they want to leverage that channel for growth.