Purchase phone storage 1. Purchase phone storage: There's a great deal of value in purchasing Google Drive (or Google One, which includes Drive, Photos, and Gmail) storage for your phone, even though the tendency is sometimes to create a new email account every time you format it. 2. Data persistence because the storage is independent of your phone: Unlike your phone's internal storage, which is erased when you format it, data on Google Drive is stored in the cloud. This means your photos, videos, documents, and other files are safe, even if your phone is lost, stolen, damaged, or formatted. 3. Multi-device accessibility: Your files are accessible from any device (computer, tablet, other smartphone) as long as you sign in with the same Google account. This is ideal if you frequently change phones or use multiple devices.