Google and WhatsApp have announced plans to remove the unlimited storage quota for WhatsApp backups on Android. Once this change rolls out, WhatsApp backups on Android will start counting towards your Google Account cloud storage limit. This is similar to how other platforms handle backups but with the benefit of Google’s free 15 GB storage.
This means that once you exceed the free 15 GB cloud storage limit that comes with a personal Google Account, you’ll have to either delete some files or purchase more storage. The 15 GB cloud storage is shared across various Google services and products including Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos.
With the change coming into effect early next year, users will still enjoy the free storage and will only have to pay for extra storage once they hit the storage limit. That is if they don’t want to delete any files from their storage. Google is advising users to leverage its storage management tools which can be handy when removing large files or photos. Additionally, directly deleting items from WhatsApp will remove them from your cloud storage. This will reduce the storage used for the next backup.
If deleting files is not an option, users can purchase extra storage with Google One. The subscription service offers expanded cloud storage with plans starting from 100 GB for $1.99 per month which should be enough for backups if needed. Google has also claimed to provide one–time Google One promotions for eligible users.
This change will first start rolling out to Beta users starting in December 2023, then gradually to all WhatsApp users on Android starting early next year. However, Google Workspace users’ storage quotas (either through school or work) remain unaffected, for now.
