Now You Can Finally Back up Local Files on Your Android Device.
While Android has built-in automatic backups for a variety of data, including photos, apps, and settings, local files were excluded from this feature. To ensure the safety of PDFs, documents, and other files stored on your device, you had to manually upload or copy them to the cloud or elsewhere. But this is changing, at least partially: the February Google Play Services update includes a new feature that will copy and upload your Downloads folder to Google Drive.
This is a significant update to the Android backup system, but it has some limitations. Here’s what you need to know before enabling it.
How Android will back up your files after an update
As Android Authority describes , the local file backup feature only applies to files in the Downloads folder. It doesn’t cover the device’s entire internal storage. The backup will be saved to Google Drive as a static copy, meaning the files won’t sync continuously, and if you make changes in one location, they won’t be reflected in the other. Backups will likely occur periodically, for example, when the phone is idle, charging, and connected to Wi-Fi.
On Android, videos and photos are handled similarly, backed up to Google Photos. Other device data, such as call and message history, and system settings, are backed up to Google Drive.
How to check Android backup settings
While automatic backups of local files are useful for those who don’t yet have a comprehensive backup plan (and if you don’t, you should create one), they can potentially take up a significant amount of your Google Drive storage. If you store a lot of invoices, tickets, documents, or installation files in your Downloads folder, you may want to be more selective about what you back up and where—especially if you’re already paying for additional Drive storage and need it for other purposes.
Fortunately, file backup is disabled by default. To enable it, go to Settings > Google Backup and select Downloads . In this same menu, you can change the backup settings for photos, videos, and “other device data.” Please note that this feature will be rolled out gradually and may not be available on your device immediately.