LAHORE (Daily Point) — WhatsApp, the popular social media platform, is introducing changes for Android users that impact Google Drive storage.

According to recent reports, WhatsApp users will now need to allocate a portion of their Google Drive storage to continue their backups.

These updates mean that users will be faced with a choice: either opt for a Google One membership or accept that their WhatsApp data stored on Google Drive will now count towards the 15GB storage limit.

Google announced these changes in a post in November, stating, “As an important update, WhatsApp backups on Android will soon contribute to your Google Account cloud storage limit, similar to the handling of WhatsApp backups on other mobile platforms. This shift will initially roll out to WhatsApp Beta users starting in December 2023, gradually extending to all WhatsApp users on Android early next year.”

To ensure users are informed, the app will display a notice about the impending changes. This banner notification will appear 30 days before the policy takes effect, accessible through Settings > Chats > Chat backup.

Crucially, users have the flexibility to choose not to store their chats on Google Drive. Instead, they can utilize WhatsApp’s Chat transfer feature to move their chats between Android devices.