WhatsApp users on Android devices: You may soon lose this massive storage advantage
What the new backup tool will mean for Android users
WhatsApp chat history backups are not currently counted as part of Google Drive storage, but this could change as the company begins rolling out the new feature. Currently, when a user sets up WhatsApp, it prompts him to import a backup from the Google account associated with the device. There is no option to import local backups. All Android users’ WhatsApp data is by default saved on the Google Drive associated with the account. WhatsApp backups are linked to the phone number and Google account they were created with. This will change when the new import/export tool in WhatsApp on Android comes out.
While this gives users the advantage that WhatsApp doesn’t take up storage space on their device, it also means that if they don’t back up their WhatsApp messages to Google Drive, they can’t transfer them. them to another device. This can also become an issue if a person ever loses access to an account where WhatsApp chat history has been backed up. Switching devices on a slow Wi-Fi connection is also not easy in such cases. All these problems can be solved by this tool. But yes, Android users will no longer get unlimited storage for their WhatsApp chats and media.
Why WhatsApp can bring this tool
The reason WhatsApp offers this tool is so far unclear. The most obvious, however, is that Google may no longer want to offer unlimited storage to WhatsApp users on Android. In June of last year, Google stopped offering unlimited storage with Google Photos also. Now, each user’s Google account offers 15GB of free storage, shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. To add to the storage quota, users can purchase a Google One membership.
What about Iphone user
WhatsApp chats of Apple iPhone the user is always saved locally on the device. Backups are stored on icloud backup. iPhone users don’t get unlimited storage on WhatsApp. “If the amount of memory available on your device reaches an extremely low level, WhatsApp may not function properly. If this happens, WhatsApp may prompt you to free up space to continue using the app,” WhatsApp warns iPhone users on its FAQ page.