Google is making a policy change to Android backups that adjusts what counts toward your Google Account storage.
Update 7/18: Google is emailing Android users about this change: “New Android Backup Storage Policy & Controls.” For existing users, this change takes effect in 45 days.
The “current storage status” section of the email notes “your estimated increase in Android backup,” as well as how much space you’re currently using.
In terms of the expanded settings, Google is widely rolling out new on/off toggles and per-app backup controls.
Original 7/6: Previously, Android backups would only count images and videos uploaded to Google Photos and “MMS data” (photos + videos) toward your Google Account storage of 15 GB (free) or more with Google One (paid).
Starting on July 7, all data types that appear in Android backup settings are included and count against your storage limit. This now includes SMS messages (the actual text), call history, and device settings.
On average, Google says this new data should increase your backup size by 40 MB.
Top comment by matteventu
IMHO blogs didn't cover it enough when Google first started counting app data against the storage quota, years ago.
That said, this only highlights even more that regulators should make Google provide an offline, unrelated to Google storage, way to backup your phone in full.
Just like Apple has allowed for iPhones since the beginning.
Secondly, Google seriously needs to add a "clutter management" sort of tool into Google Messages. I don't want to delete old conversations, but there's plenty of media items that take up a ton of storage, and I don't necessarily want to keep those (most can go). But yeah, I can see why there's no incentive for them to do this. Just pay for more storage, right?
Looking forward for this to change.
As part of this launch, Google is giving Android users more control over what’s included in the backup. We’ve already seen per-app controls, but Google is also adding on/off toggles for SMS & MMS messages, Call history, and Device settings. These new preferences are rolling out over the coming weeks.
To access this page, go to Settings > Accounts and backup > Google Backup > Other device data on Pixel devices. You can also search for “backup” in your Settings app.
This new policy is rolling out starting tomorrow for new Android backup users and will come to existing accounts in the coming months. More details are available here.
“Android backup lets you save the data on your phone to your Google Account so you can easily restore it or set up a new device. We’ve updated our policy so that all Android backup data now counts toward Google Account storage. We expect this to only add 40MB on average. We’re also giving you more transparency and new controls that let you select which data and apps you want to back up.”
Google spokesperson
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