Google increases storage requirements for cloud backups of Android smartphones

Until now, anyone backing up an Android smartphone to the cloud only had to account for the storage space used by photos and videos in the Google Photos, for app data, and for MMS messages. Although a smartphone’s text messages, call history, and system settings were previously backed up to the cloud, that storage didn’t count toward the user’s storage quota.

That’s changing now, because starting today, this data will also be backed up to the user’s cloud storage. Google told 9to5Google that, as a result of this change, backups will be about 40 MB larger on average than before. Still, there’s good news for Android users: After an update, the system settings will allow users to more precisely control which data is included in the backup. This means you can not only exclude data from individual apps, but also disable SMS and MMS messages as well as call history if you want to save storage space.

These new options are set to be rolled out via updates to compatible Android smartphones over the coming weeks, starting with Pixel smartphones, including the Google Pixel 10 Pro ($965 on Amazon). Google offers users up to 15 GB of free cloud storage. Those who need more storage must sign up for a paid Google One subscription. For $1.99 per month, customers get 100 GB of storage, for $9.99, they get 2 TB, and for $19.99, Google offers 2 TB of storage and access to additional AI features.