From December 2023, WhatsApp backups for Android users will count as Google Drive storage. The previous collaboration between Meta and Google is coming to an end, requiring coordination of backup strategies.
WhatsApp users on Android devices are experiencing a significant change in their chat backup functionality. From December 2023 Data backups of popular messaging services count toward available storage space in Google Drive The development is a result of the expiration of the previous collaboration between WhatsApp’s parent company Meta and Google.
Only changes for regular Android users in 2024
The change will first affect WhatsApp beta users. These are communicated via a banner in the service settings. From the beginning of 2024 This will be the new rule Slowly for all Android users Introduced Google talks “from early 2024”, while Meta says “first half of 2024”.
Until now, Android users have benefited from a special rule that has existed since 2018: WhatsApp backups do not count towards Google Drive storage quotas. For users, this means they can back up their messages and media without worrying about available storage space. These backups, especially photos and videos, Often several gigabytes in size to remain
This step represents an alignment with practice on other mobile platforms Users whose backups exceed the 15 GB free storage quota on Google Drive must Either free up storage or a paid subscription For additional storage space. Google One, for example, offers 100 GB of storage space for two euros per month.
As an alternative, WhatsApp offers its alternative Transfer chats between Android devicesWithout saving to Google Drive. This option may be attractive to users who want to avoid memory expansion.
formula
For reasons of better readability, masculine, feminine and different language forms (m/f/d) are not used at the same time. All personal names apply equally to all genders.
