WhatsApp backup on Android to count towards Google Account storage

WhatsApp backup experience on Android will be in line with how it works on other platforms, says Google

WhatsApp chat backups on Android will from December count as part of Google Account cloud storage, Google has announced about the Meta-owned instant messaging service.

The change will first roll out for WhatsApp Beta users and later for general users in the following months. Backups on Android will work until there is space in a user’s Google Account storage. If the user exhausts their storage limit, they will have to free up space to resume backups. Google provides for free up to 15GB of storage that users can share across platforms like Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos.

“Going forward, WhatsApp backup experience on Android will be in line with how it works on other platforms, with the added benefit of Google's 15 GB of storage available at no charge. We’ll continue to work with WhatsApp to provide you with reliable and secure backup support,” Google said in a community post.

The company has also said that if a user has a Google Workspace subscription through work or school, their storage quota will not be impacted.

Google provides various storage management tools to free up account storage by removing large files or photos with a tap. Users can also delete items directly from WhatsApp to reduce the storage used by the next WhatsApp backup. Additionally, Google also offers more storage space with Google One subscription starting at Rs 149 per month for 100GB of storage.