Say goodbye to unlimited WhatsApp backups in Google Drive

Date:
Tue, 01 Feb 2022 15:39:59 +0000

Description:
Google may soon limit the size of WhatsApp chat backups hosted on Drive.

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Google may soon place a limit on the size of WhatsApp backups housed in cloud storage service Drive , reports have suggested.

Currently, WhatsApp backups do not count towards a users Google Drive
capacity limit. However, a snippet of code from the latest WhatsApp beta accessed by WABetaInfo suggests this may not be the case for much longer.

The screenshot appears to show that Google Drive will begin to serve up
alerts when a user is nearing their WhatsApp backup size limit, but does not indicate what this limit might be. TechRadar Pro has asked Google for confirmation of both the policy change and the capacity limit. WhatsApp backups

The move to cut off unlimited WhatsApp backups in Google Drive is not
entirely unexpected. Given the size of some WhatsApp chats and the quantity
of multimedia content people share, providing unlimited backup has surely
been costing Google a significant sum.

Some have also described the offering as a loophole in the Google Drive system, because it effectively allows people to store as many photos and videos as they like (as well as chats), simply by sending them to a contact over WhatsApp.

Another factor is that Google has recently placed greater emphasis on drawing users towards its paid Google One subscription, which bundles cloud storage, phone backup, Android VPN and other benefits. Read more

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By limiting the quantity of WhatsApp data users are allowed to store for free in Google Drive, the company is giving people yet another reason to make the shift to a paid service plan.

A cynic might even suggest that this has been Googles plan all along. Once someone is tied into a product or ecosystem (in this instance, WhatsApp
backup with Google Drive), they become increasingly reluctant to switch and more likely to pay out in order to maintain a current level of service.

We will update this article with further information from Google, if any is forthcoming. Also check out our lists of the best external hard drives and best portable SSDs

Via WABetaInfo



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/say-goodbye-to-unlimited-whatsapp-backups-in-go ogle-drive/


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