Starting on Nov. 12, WhatsApp users will no longer have to sacrifice significant Google storage space to back up their messages.
This is after Google announced that they will be providing unlimited Google Drive storage for backups to accumulate a plethora of GIFs, images, and videos that are clogging up the phone storage of every regular WhatsApp user. This move means that any WhatsApp-related data the application backs up won't count against the personal 15 GB cloud storage.
At present, any WhatsApp data including videos, images, chat logs, and audio files are counted toward the space every user had in the cloud. According to Android Police, WhatsApp announced the update to some users via email. It added that the details regarding the recent changes can now be accessed on the FAQ page of the app.
"Due to a new agreement between WhatsApp and Google, WhatsApp backups will no longer count against Google Drive storage quota. However, any WhatsApp backups that have not been updated in more than a year will automatically be removed from storage," the company said in an email to a digit.in team member.
Unlike any other texting apps, WhatsApp compels its users to back up their messages to a separate cloud service to sync conversations between phones. Android users have their messages stored on Google Drive, while Apple customers use iCloud.
Google Recommends Users To Back Up Their Data
Meanwhile, Google advised WhatsApp users to manually back up their application data before Nov. 12. It is worth noting that WhatsApp backups that haven't been updated for more than a year will be wiped clean with the upcoming update.
WhatsApp likewise recommends its users to make use of a Wi-Fi connection when doing the backup process, as backup files differ in size and may consume additional mobile data charges. In order to back up WhatsApp data, users need to make sure that they have the Drive installed on their phone before they click on the "Chat backup" option, which can be seen inside the settings menu of the app.
The Verge noted that WhatsApp users are still given the option to automatically back up any chats to the cloud or their device's local storage. Currently, WhatsApp has more than 1.5 billion monthly active users, thus making it the most recognized chat application in the world. Just recently, the chat application introduced a new feature that allows its users to initiate group video calling.
