WhatsApp is getting ready to change how it stores your chat backups, and this involves Google as well.
The messaging app, which is owned by Meta, is introducing a new update through the Google Play Beta Program. This update, found in WhatsApp’s latest version 2.23.24.21, means that unlimited storage for chat backups is no longer an option.
For Android users, this brings them in line with their iOS counterparts, who already have a 15GB free storage limit on Google. Once you hit this limit, you might have to start paying.
Here’s the deal: if you decide to back up your WhatsApp chats on an Android device in the coming months, that backup will start counting towards your Google Account storage limit. If you go beyond this limit, you’ll need to clear up space in your Google Account to keep making backups, according to WhatsApp’s post on its Help Centre page.
Google shared an article on Tuesday saying that this update will first be available to beta testers starting in December. After that, everyone else will get the change in the first half of next year.
To keep users in the loop, WhatsApp promises to notify them 30 days before the change happens. This notification will appear as a banner in Settings > Chats > Chat backup.
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