Using WhatsApp could cost you this year – check your phone now to avoid the new fees

Understanding the Changes

A new rule change means you could have to start paying to save all your WhatsApp chats. It could soon start costing you money to save your WhatsApp chats under new changes recently announced by Google. WhatsApp is free to use, which is partly why the chat app is one of the most popular in the world.

Implications for Android Users

Over the past few years, users of the Android version of WhatsApp have enjoyed totally free use, even when it comes to cloud backups of all their chats. Backups are important to keep updated so you can restore all your chats if you lose your phone or simply upgrade to a new handset.

Impact of Google Cloud Storage

You can backup all your WhatsApp chats and history on Android by linking a Google Account to your WhatsApp app. Although these backups are stored in Google’s cloud and linked to you, they did not count towards your Google cloud allowance – until now.

The Announced Changes

In a change announced in November, as of the start of 2024, WhatsApp backups on Android will count towards your Google cloud storage allowance. The tech giant gives every Google Account 15GB free storage, but if you have more than that over your Google Drive, Google Photos, and Gmail account then you will have to pay for more storage.

Rollout Details

“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,” Google said in a blog post. “This change will first start rolling out to WhatsApp Beta users starting in December 2023, then gradually to all WhatsApp users on Android starting early next year.”

What to Expect in 2024

Well, now it is ‘next year’ as we head into the first week of 2024. If you have several gigabytes of WhatsApp history (this writer’s is over 4GB) you might find it tips your Google Cloud usage over 15GB, which would mean paying at least £2.49 per month to bump up to the next storage tier of 200GB.

Avoiding Additional Charges

However, you can get around this potential new charge by deleting large files saved in your Google Account to free up enough space to backup your WhatsApp history. It’s likely the bulk of the free storage is being taken up by large photo and video files on Google Drive.

Managing Your Storage

You can go to the Google Photos app or the desktop website and delete large files to give yourself more free space. If you use Google Drive to store files then you may also find you can delete some items there, such as video or music files you might no longer need. If you can chisel your overall storage down to below 15GB then you might be able to avoid paying for Google Cloud storage and continue to keep those WhatsApp chats backed up for free.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the new changes regarding WhatsApp backups and Google cloud storage could potentially lead to additional costs for Android users. However, with proper management of your Google cloud storage and WhatsApp backups, it is possible to avoid these fees and continue to enjoy the services without any additional financial burden.

Source: express