Learn how the inclusion of WhatsApp backups in Google Drive storage will impact you

WhatsApp has made a significant move at the beginning of 2024 that may not be well-received by the majority of Android users. From now on, WhatsApp backups will be included in your Google Drive storage, requiring sufficient space on your Google Drive. Previously, WhatsApp had been providing free Google Drive storage for Android smartphone backups, but it seems that this complimentary service has come to an end. This change is particularly concerning for individuals with large WhatsApp backups. Learn more about this significant alteration.

WhatsApp backups in Google Drive

In November, Meta Platforms announced that it would soon stop allowing free Google storage for WhatsApp backups. In a blog post, the platform said: “An important note is that WhatsApp backups on Android will soon start counting towards your Google account’s cloud storage limit, the same way WhatsApp backups are treated on other mobile platforms.”

Meta said that the change will begin to appear in December, with a wider rollout in early 2024, and now we’re actually witnessing it. So it looks like the time has finally come to kiss your free Google Drive storage!

What does it mean for users?

With this change, WhatsApp backups will now take up a portion of the 15GB storage that Google offers with its free account. If you want to get more storage, you need to subscribe to Google One, the company’s subscription service that offers up to 2 TB of storage. It is important to note that this change only affects Android users as WhatsApp did not have free storage on iOS devices.

If you are using the stable version of WhatsApp, go to your Google account storage and see the Other section. Here you can find the storage space used by the WhatsApp backup. Interestingly, WhatsApp says it will start notifying users of this change at least 30 days in advance via a banner. It can reportedly be seen by going to WhatsApp, then Chats, then Chat Backups.