Android users will need to be concerned about their space on Google Drive to store backups. Creating a backup on WhatsApp is truly important to keep all conversations safe in case of changing phones or encountering any issues with these chats. Until now, these backups, stored on Google Drive for Android, didn’t consume space from our subscribed plan.
Essentially, we could say that Android backups were entirely free, and Google provided that space so that the weight of these backups didn’t count against us. This way, Android users, unlike iOS, didn’t have to worry about expanding their Drive storage to safeguard backups. But this is about to change.
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Backups Will Count Towards Your Drive Storage
In the upcoming months, WhatsApp will alter how it stores backups, and on Google Drive, you’ll see these backups take up their respective space. This new experience for Android users will roll out gradually starting from December and will conclude in the first half of 2024 for all users.
In terms of numbers, among the 2 billion active WhatsApp users, many are on Android. This meant that the space occupied by WhatsApp backups in Drive was significant without deducting from the 15 GB of free space.
Consequently, if you want to store copies of your photos or videos, you’ll have a file that exceeds those free 15 GB of Drive. Therefore, to store them, you’ll need to start paying for additional storage so that this file can reside on Google Drive servers. However, this isn’t a problem if you’re only storing text, as it occupies very little space, and the 15 GB free space will suffice in those cases.
The company explains that they will notify all users 30 days before implementing this change with a prominent banner. If, at the time of this change, we don’t have sufficient storage, the backup won’t take place, posing a significant issue. Thus, if you’re on Android, you’ll notice your Drive cloud starting to fill up with all your instant messaging app messages.
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