WhatsApp has reportedly announced that chat backups on Android devices will commence counting towards Google Drive storage space, and this change is expected to take effect in the first half of 2024.
WhatsApp chat backups will soon start counting towards your GDrive storage space. The company updated its terms and conditions for Android devices last month but did not share any details on when the change will be applicable.
However, a recent report by The Verge claims that WhatsApp has already rolled out the changes to those on the beta version of the app. This means WhatsApp backup – which includes chat history, images and videos, will now count against those users’ GDrive storage irrespective if they are on the free or paid tier.
The Meta-owned messaging platform also said that the change will apply to all WhatsApp users on Android in the first half of 2024 and that they will be notified 30 days prior. The notification will be shown as a banner in ‘Chat Backup’ under the app’s ‘Chat’ settings section.
For those who don’t want to back up their WhatsApp chat on GDrive, you will have the option to use the built-in WhatsApp Chat Transfer tool when they want to move all their app-related data to a new device. While this tool requires both phones to be on the same Wi-Fi, it works without an active internet connection.
If you still want to continue using GDrive to back up your WhatsApp chats, the app has an option that lets you back up only text messages without images and videos, helping you save a ton of space on GDrive.
While Android users have enjoyed the privilege of WhatsApp chat backups not affecting their Google Drive storage space for an extended period, Apple iPhone users have not had the same luxury. Apple, providing only 5GB of free cloud storage for users, has not exempted WhatsApp backups from counting towards this quota.