Google now counts Android backups in your 15GB free storage, space may run out faster

Google is changing the way your Android backup data is saved. Now, when you backup your Android device, the stored data will count towards your 15GB of free Google account storage, or higher limits available via paid plans. Here is what this means for you.

In Short

• Google will now count your Android backups in account storage
• Call history, SMS, device settings to count in your free Google storage
• Google also started testing lower free storage for some accounts

Google is changing how Android backups are stored. With a new policy effective from July 7, the company will now count your backup data against your Google account storage. That is, all data that is backed up – such as call history and SMS messages – on your Android device will now be added to the 15GB of free storage that you get with a Google account.

Until now, Google counted only images and videos uploaded to Google Photos, along with photos and videos included in MMS data, against your Google account storage. For free, Google gives up to 15GB of free cloud storage for all accounts. Though you can get higher limits via paid Google One or Google AI plans.

More data in your Google account storage

Under the updated Google policy, all data that is backed up on your Android device – SMS messages, call history, device settings, app data and other backup information – will also be included in the storage calculation. This means that you will be using up more of your Google account storage by default, something that did not happen before.

As part of the rollout, the company is also adding more detailed backup controls. Alongside existing per-app controls, users will get on-off toggles for SMS and MMS messages, call history and device settings. This will allow you to choose what is included in your backups and what you may not want to backup. You can find the new preferences under the Google backup page in your device settings.

Google says change only brings marginal increase

While it seems that this change could lead to users reaching their free storage limit faster for their Google accounts, the company says that it may only have a small impact. A Google spokesperson said, “We’ve updated our policy so that all Android backup data now counts toward Google Account storage. We expect this to only add 40MB on average.”

The spokesperson added, “We’re also giving you more transparency and new controls that let you select which data and apps you want to back up.”

The new policy will apply first to new Android backup users from July 7, while existing accounts will see the update roll out over the coming months.

The move is the latest change to Google’s storage policies. In May, the company began testing a lower default free storage limit for some new accounts, reducing it from 15GB to 5GB unless the user linked a phone number.

In case you want to purchase additional storage for your account, Google One plans start in India at Rs 59 per month for 30GB of storage. You also get free storage with Google AI plans.

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