To the attention of WhatsApp users – the company has made an important announcement regarding WhatsApp’s backups. It appears that they will no longer count towards the Google Drive storage quota. In addition, WhatsApp backups that haven’t been updated in more than a year will be automatically removed from Google Drive storage.
The general recommendation for keeping those backups is manually backing up WhatsApp data before November 21, 2018, when the change is expected to take place.
WhatsApp Media & Messages Not Encrypted When Stored in Google Drive
However, it should be underlined that those backups won’t be encrypted. In other words: “Media and messages you back up aren’t protected by WhatsApp end-to-end encryption while in Google Drive”.
This means that all chats, photos, and videos sent via the app and backed up on Google Drive are accessible not only to Google but also to hackers and any individuals who wish to have access to the particular user’s Google Drive account. Furthermore, WhatsApp backups that haven’t been updated in more than a year will be automatically removed from the Drive storage.
Users can back up their chats and media to Google Drive. This way if the user changes their Android phones, their chats and media become transferrable. WhatsApp’s recommendation is connecting the phone to Wi-Fi prior to backing up the chats via Google Drive, as backup files can vary in size and consume mobile data, causing additional charges.
In order for the user to employ Google Drive backup, the following requirements should be met:
1.A Google account activated on your phone
2.Google Play services installed on your phone [Note: Google Play services are only available for Android 2.3.4 and higher].
3.Enough free space on your phone to create the backup
To manually back up chats to Google Drive, follow these simple steps:
1.Open WhatsApp.
2.Tap Menu > Settings > Chats > Chat backup.
3.Tap BACK UP to begin your Google Drive backup. This process might take a few minutes.
More information is available in WhatsApp’s FAQ.
Milena Dimitrova
An inspired writer and content manager who has been with SensorsTechForum since the project started. A professional with 10+ years of experience in creating engaging content. Focused on user privacy and malware development, she strongly believes in a world where cybersecurity plays a central role. If common sense makes no sense, she will be there to take notes. Those notes may later turn into articles! Follow Milena @Milenyim
Follow Me: