Phone backup is a lifesaver in so many situations, whether it’s important photos you feared were lost forever or that project you worked on for weeks on the go and then accidentally trashed.
Google is now changing how your Android backup works and giving you more control over it. To make sure it’s working how you want it for when you need it, it’s important to know what’s going on.
A switch for messaging
Google’s latest update to Google Play services, version 26.25, makes changes to how message backup functions.
Prior to this, all of your SMS, MMS, and RCS messages were automatically backed up.
Google is now giving users control over them with a toggle for turning backup on or off for them. The toggle is labeled SMS and MMS messages, with RCS messages being included in the MMS category.
On most devices, the option will appear under Settings > Accounts and backup > Google Backup > Other device data, where it also joins call history and device settings.
A new way to save documents
Along with this change, Google is adding a feature to backup Documents that live on your device. Backups follow the device’s regular schedule.
This backup includes .DOC, .PPT, .XLS, .PDF, and other file types, with the files appearing in a Google Drive folder named for the device.
If you want the assurance of backing something up immediately, you can do that manually.
One important thing to note is that backup does not equal syncing. The document from your device is a distinct and separate file from wherever it was downloaded from.
Watch out for costs
One thing to keep in mind is that Google has recently made changes to its storage policy. Google now offers 5GB of free storage, as compared to the previous 15GB.
And it recently said that all of the data in an Android backup counts toward that storage. While most backups should be around the 40MB range, document backup in particular could change that, so it’s worth keeping an eye on your backup data.
