This is not the best of time for Yahoo users. When they open their email boxes, the message popping up warns them about the imminence of the cessation of services to except they subscribe more space or delete old items to free up space.
Yahoo Mail user, who simply identified himself as Simeon, recounted that he had used the platform for over a decade and had received vital information about his banking transaction and travels out of the country.
Getting a sudden message from Yahoo Mail therefore got him upset and at the same time worried.
“As usual, I opened my email and the message I received was a warning that I might not be able to send or receive emails over the next two months if I failed to pay for subscription by way of more space or delete files that have consumed huge spaces.
“Initially, I opted for deleting old emails. I deleted well over 5,000 emails and pictures and the message disappeared,” he said.
According to him, three weeks after, the message reappeared warning him about lack of storage space and the same options were given.
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He said by the nature of his job, there were certain mails and images he couldn’t afford to let go. Hence, he embraced the option of paying for more space.
“At my wits end, I agreed to buy about 20 GB but was frustrated by the payment method. The United States dollar is the vehicle for payment. I didn’t have a domiciliary account and efforts to pay with my naira card was frustrated. So I gave up the idea and went back to free more spaces,” he said.
For Mrs. Esther Kokumo, she had enjoyed her Gmail account for over a decade. According to her, she had opened the Gmail account after some internet roughnecks hijacked her Yahoo Mail account, reset her password and shut her permanently out of the account.
For so long, she enjoyed the services of Gmail until recently, she received a message with a sign that looked like a fire alert on her email.
Like Yahoo Mail, the message read: “Your Gmail storage is 99% full. You’ve used 17 GB of the 17 GB of Google Account storage that is shared across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos.
“Once you run out of space, you won’t be able to: Send and receive emails on Gmail; Back up new photos and videos to Google Photos; Upload new files to Google Drive; Edit or create new files using Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, and more.
“The app gave me options to either get more storage or clean up space. I chose the latter but when I clicked, it took me to the Google storage manager from where I saw Emails with large attachments 1 GB; Large photos and videos 32 MB; Spam emails 267 KB; and Large Drive files 6KB. It gave me an opportunity to review each of these files before deleting them.
“I chose to delete despite another message saying: Keep more files and photos. Get 100 GB of storage for usually N1, 900 per month now, N470 for three months,” Mrs. Kokumo said.
According to her, she did not want to start what she cannot finish. “If I click now, they could just continue to increase their prices. These are companies that don’t have offices here. We just entrust them with a vital data which we don’t even know what they do with it,” she said.
A telecom sector analyst said the companies are not out to charity; they are in for business and to make profit. “Their strategy has worked. Their business model too is superb. They first allow you to enjoy the freebies, making sure that you were already used to it before slamming charges on you.
“I am sure not many people will be willing to lose their emails because it has become an indispensable adjunct to modern life. You book your flight via your mail, get visa appointments and even bank alerts via it, so you can see how indispensable the email has become,” he said on condition of anonymity.
Yahoo Mail started demanding payment for certain aspects of its platform use, primarily related to storage. The free storage limit for Yahoo Mail has been drastically reduced to 20GB, and users who exceed that limit must either delete emails or pay for additional storage to continue sending and receiving emails.
Yahoo offers paid storage plans such as 100GB for $1.99 per month and 1TB for $9.99 per month. Additionally, Yahoo Mail Plus, a premium subscription, costs around $5 per month and includes features like 200GB storage and an ad-free interface.
“Users who do not upgrade may find their abilities to use some services restricted, though mailbox access remains for managing storage. This change has caused dissatisfaction among many users, especially those who have used the service for a long time and now face unexpected fees.
Yahoo Mail offers a straightforward pricing model with one main paid plan at $5 per month for five TB storage and premium features.
Gmail provides more tiered options starting at $1.99/month for 100 GB, with higher tiers offering advanced Workspace and AI features up to $21.99/month.
Microsoft Outlook’s personal plan is around $6.99 with one TB storage bundled with Office 365 apps.
Yahoo Mail’s storage offering is very competitive, giving five TB at a mid-range price while Gmail’s cheapest 100 GB plan is much cheaper but with less storage.
Gmail and Outlook provide broader productivity features and business-focused plans which Yahoo Mail lacks.
Overall, Yahoo Mail’s paid plan provides excellent value on raw storage at $5 for five TB but less flexibility and additional features compared to Gmail’s tiered ecosystem or Outlook’s productivity suite integration.
