The news on WhatsApp usually reach all users progressively and generally tend to be beneficial for them, but this is not always the case . Starting this year, be very careful if you make backup copies on WhatsApp: you will soon run out of space on Google. This measure has caught more than one person by surprise, and generally no attention was paid to the free space available in Google accounts.
Until the announcement of this change in the terms of use, WhatsApp backups that allow you to keep conversations and multimedia files on The personal Google account did not take up extra space. This has begun to change since last December, when some users of the beta version already saw how their WhatsApp storage began to count within the 15 GB that Google provides to all its users.
Why WhatsApp backups take up Google storage space
When asked about why WhatsApp backups take up Google storage space if they are from two different companies (WhatsApp belongs to Meta), the answer is provided by Google. The accumulated information of each of the WhatsApp users in their applications within an Android operating system is saved in backup copies of the Google account , in which there are also other services such as Google Drive (office automation), Gmail (email) or Google Photos.
The decision thatWhatsApp information takes up space on Google has been made by the company from Mountain View, ensuring that in this way they align with WhatsApp’s collaborations with other platforms, referring especially to Apple. On these platforms, the storage of backup copies also falls within the available space of each user, so Google seeks not to be the exception to the norm and, incidentally, try to convince some users to subscribe to its Google One service in case they need additional space.
How much space WhatsApp backups take up on Google
This has triggered a new concern for Android users who use WhatsApp daily: How much space do WhatsApp backups take up on Google? This may vary depending on the use made of the instant messaging app, being higher for those who have a greater number of conversations and multimedia file traffic. These backups are made automatically and periodically, so it is quite easy to not be aware of their size. In general, a personal WhatsApp account with normal use would not even have to reach 500 MB, so it becomes quite difficult for the backup by itself to take up those 15 GB.
What is quantified is the free storage limit in Google accounts. The bar is located at 15 GB, so those users who are close to or have exceeded this storage will have to find a way to free up space or give up to WhatsApp backups, with the risk of loss of information that this entails when changing phones or in case of loss.
If necessary for very intensive users, Google makes available the Google One service, with which you can expand cloud storage. Those who have doubts about how much available space they have in their Google profiles, can access the Google One Storage page, where the space occupied by each service. In general, Gmail and Google Drive are the two services that take up the most space of the free 15 GB, while WhatsApp appears as an almost anecdotal element.
Here’s a simplified tabular guide that can give you an idea of how the space usage might vary:
| Content Type | Average Size per Item | Number of Items | Estimated Space Used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text Messages | 1 KB per message | 1000 | 1 MB |
| Images | 2 MB per image | 100 | 200 MB |
| Videos | 10 MB per video | 10 | 100 MB |
| Voice Messages | 1 MB per minute | 30 minutes | 30 MB |
| Documents | 5 MB per document | 10 | 50 MB |
Total Estimated Space: ~381 MB
This table is just an example and the actual size can vary significantly. Remember that videos and high-resolution images can take up a lot more space. To check the exact size of your WhatsApp backup on Google Drive:
- Open Google Drive.
- Go to the ‘Backups’ section.
- Find the WhatsApp backup to see the size.
Keep in mind that Google Drive offers 15 GB of free storage shared across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. If your WhatsApp backup exceeds this limit, you might need to buy additional storage or manage your existing data.