Up until now, backing up your WhatsApp chats to your Google account was free. Soon, however, these backups will start counting against your Google Drive storage quota.
This will affect you the most if you’re a regular WhatsApp user. Don’t worry, we’ll help you navigate this change and suggest things you can do now to save your WhatsApp chats.
WhatsApp Backups Will Now Count Toward Your Google Account Storage
As revealed in aGoogle Supportpost on July 13, 2025, “WhatsApp backups on Android will soon start counting toward your Google Account cloud storage limit, similar to how WhatsApp backups are handled on other mobile platforms.”
This change will start rolling out to WhatsApp Beta users in December 2023, and then to all WhatsApp users on Android from early 2024. This means that you still have some time toback up your WhatsApp messages to Google Drivefor free.
Each Google account comes with 15GB of free storage shared across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. If you regularlyback up data on your phoneor have automatic backup enabled, you’ve likely already used a chunk of that free storage.
To check how much storage you have left, open the Google Drive app on your phone and tap the three-line menu. If you’ve used up more than 75% of the total storage, we recommend you take corrective actions immediately using the points below.
What Can You Do to Save Your WhatsApp Chats?
There are a couple of things you can do to avoid losing your WhatsApp chats. Use the following solutions:
1. Back Up Your WhatsApp Chats Before the Deadline
There’s still some time until the change comes into effect for all WhatsApp users, so the first thing you should do right now is to back up your WhatsApp chats before the deadline.
To do so, open WhatsApp and tap thethree-dotsmenu, then go toSettings > Chats > Chat backup. If your Google account isn’t already connected to WhatsApp, tapGoogle Accountand sign in. Once connected, tapBack upand wait for the process to be completed.
2. Exclude Videos in Your WhatsApp Backups
Videos take up a lot of space, far more than images and text combined. So, to avoid filling up your Google Drive storage after the deadline, you may toggle offInclude videosin the Chat backup menu. For videos important to you, consider downloading them to your device directly instead of backing them up to the cloud.
3. Free Up Storage on Your Google Account
If your Google account doesn’t have much storage left, it’s time to delete some stuff. It’s likely that most of the storage in your Google Drive is being occupied by Google Photos, so start there. Open the Google Photos app, tap on your profile picture, and tapAccount storage.
Here, you’ll see your photos and videos divided into categories likeLarge photos & videos,Blurry photos, andScreenshots. You’ll also be able to see how much storage each category is taking. Review them all and delete the files no longer important to you.
You canlearn how to free up storage in Google Driveif you want a more detailed guide.
Back Up Your WhatsApp Before It’s Too Late
If you haven’t already, you should back up your WhatsApp chats immediately. Google hasn’t mentioned the exact date when this change will come into full effect for all WhatsApp users, so it’s wiser to be proactive to avoid losing your chats.
After the deadline, WhatsApp chat backups will start counting toward your 15GB of free Google Account storage. To verify you don’t deplete it, we recommend you create backups only once a month and exclude videos from them.
