The WhatsApp messaging service does not keep a copy of your messages online like Messenger. Instead, the service uses a Google backup system on Android, or iCloud for iPhones. Google will impose limits.
If you install WhatsApp on a new smartphone, you start from scratch when it comes to your chats and attachments. Indeed, the Meta service keeps your conversations on your device locally and not on a server in the cloud like Messenger does. This is also why to find your discussions on a PC or the web, you must first synchronize with the smartphone application.
To allow people to keep their conversations, WhatsApp has set up a backup system in the cloud, on Google servers in the case of an Android smartphone, or on iCloud for an Apple iPhone. Google announces the implementation of restrictions.
Pay attention to your free space on Google
From December 2023, with a deployment planned until the beginning of 2024, the WhatsApp application on Android will be updated so that the weight of the backups is deducted from your Google account.
For several months, Google has been putting an end to unlimited backup on its services to restrict them to the approximately 15 GB offered when creating a Google Drive account. This update is another step in that direction.
In other words, Google will now deduct Google Photos, Google Drive, Gmail and WhatsApp backup from your available space on your Google account. If you run out of space, you will need to take out a Google One subscription.
Otherwise, the firm recommends that you delete certain elements from your Google Photos or WhatsApp backup. With each of these announcements, Google takes the risk of making its platform less attractive. However, it should be noted that here the firm is aligning itself with the practice on the iPhone side. In fact, saving WhatsApp to iCloud is also deducted from the storage space offered by Apple.
Want to join a community of enthusiasts? Our Discord welcomes you, it is a place of mutual help and passion around tech.