All Android Backup Data Now Counts Toward Your Google Account Storage, Starting Today

Google is changing how Android backups affect your storage limit, and the shift takes effect today, July 7.

Previously, only photos and videos synced through Google Photos, the app that now has more advanced features, along with MMS media, counted against your 15GB free storage or paid Google One plan.

Starting now, every category shown in Android’s backup settings, including SMS text, call history, and device settings, factors into that same cap.

What’s Actually Changing

A Google spokesperson confirmed the update, explaining that Android backup has always let people save phone data to their Google Account for easy restoration on a new device, and that the storage policy now reflects everything being backed up rather than just media files. 

The company says the average user should expect their backup size to grow by roughly 40MB, a modest bump considering call logs and message text take up far less space than photos and videos. 

The rollout starts with new backup users on Android devices today, while people already using the service will see the change phased in over the coming months rather than all at once.

More Visibility and Control Over What’s Backed Up

According to Engadget, alongside the storage policy shift, Google is adding dedicated toggles that let people turn off backing up SMS and MMS messages, call history, and device settings individually, building on the per-app backup controls Google introduced in late June. 

These settings live under Settings, then Accounts and backup, then Google Backup, followed by Other device data on Pixel phones, though the exact path may vary slightly on other Android devices. 

Searching “backup” directly in the Settings app should also surface the relevant page for anyone who doesn’t want to navigate the full menu.

Part of a Broader Storage Policy Shift

This isn’t Google’s only recent move touching account storage. Back in May, the company began testing a reduced 5GB default free tier for new Google Accounts, down from the long-standing 15GB, unless the user links a phone number to their account. 

It has also started reshaping how storage works across its ecosystem, including its decision to phase out Google Drive for Desktop’s Photos Sync in favor of web-based alternatives. 

Combined with today’s mobile backup change, Google appears to be tightening how it manages storage across its services while keeping existing user limits largely unchanged. 

For anyone nervous about the shift, the safest move is to check the new backup toggles once they arrive and confirm nothing unexpected is being synced that wasn’t intended.

Source: All Android backup data now counts toward your Google Account storage