Chat backups made on Android smartphones will allegedly begin to count towards GDrive storage space in the first half of 2024, according to WhatsApp.
WhatsApp Chat Backup Will Start Keeping Track
You will soon be able to use the space in your GDrive to store backups of your WhatsApp conversations. The business did not specify when the new terms and conditions would be effective when modified last month, although they did affect Android devices. However, according to a new story in The Verge, WhatsApp has supposedly already updated the beta users with the new features. This implies that regardless of whether a user is on the free or paid tier of GDrive, the backup from WhatsApp, which includes chat history, photos, and videos, will now be counted against their storage available.
Have a look at the post:
WhatsApp Chat backup will start counting towards your Google Drive storage space in 2024. Users will be notfied one month in advance.#WhatsApp pic.twitter.com/sjighWEG3B
— Mukul Sharma (@stufflistings) January 1, 2024
All Android users of WhatsApp will be affected by the move in the first half of 2024, according to the messaging network owned by Meta. Users will be given 30 days’ notice before the change takes effect. This alert will be displayed as a banner in the ‘Chat Backup’ section of the app’s ‘Chat’ settings.
When switching to a new device, you may transfer all of your WhatsApp data using the built-in WhatsApp Chat Transfer feature, eliminating the need to back up your chats on GDrive. Although both phones must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network for this tool to function, an active internet connection is not necessary.
You can save a tonne of space on GDrive by selecting the option to back up text messages without photos and videos in the WhatsApp app if you still want to use GDrive to back up your chats. While Android users have long had the convenience of WhatsApp chat backups excluded from GDrive storage capacity, Apple iPhone users have been severely limited, with only 5GB of cloud storage available for free from the tech giant.
The announcement was made public by Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, in the first half of 2024, and it will be implemented for all Android users. In the app’s Chat Backup settings, you’ll see a banner that will notify you 30 days in advance.
Here is what a user shares:
WhatsApp Chat Backup will soon (first half of 2024) start counting toward your Google Account storage limit.@WhatsApp will let you know 30 days before this change happens with a banner in WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat backup.#WhatsApp pic.twitter.com/eveRHlkEY4
— Kunal Chowdhury (@kunaldchowdhury) January 1, 2024
Use the in-app WhatsApp Chat Transfer feature for a trouble-free data transfer to any other device. While an internet connection isn’t strictly required, having both phones connected to the same Wi-Fi network is.
Choose a more space-efficient method by backing up just text messages instead of media files. This policy change brings Android users in line with iPhone users, whose WhatsApp backups have always been counted towards iCloud storage. The ever-decreasing amount of free plans should serve as a cautionary tale about how much online storage you need. Android users, be prepared! Get ready for the new WhatsApp Google Drive storage landscape, whether it’s migrating chats, cutting media, or switching to text-only backups.