Android backups now count against Google storage – average 40MB extra

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TL;DR

All backup data, including SMS, call history, and device settings, will now count toward your Google Account storage.

Google says the average backup will only use about 40MB of additional storage.

New backup toggles let you choose whether to include SMS/MMS, call history, and device settings in your backups.

Last year, we spotted Google quietly working on a way to give Android users more control over what gets backed up from their phones. More recently, the company also started letting people decide which apps should be included in those backups. Now, Google is making another tweak to the system — this time, it’s changing how those backups affect your Google storage.

Until now, most Android backups haven’t really eaten up your Google Account storage. The biggest exceptions were your Google Photos uploads and multimedia messages (MMS), such as photos and videos sent through text messages. Things like your SMS conversations, call logs, and many device settings were essentially stored without counting against your storage quota.