How to Prevent Android Device Backups From Filling up Your Google Drive Storage
If you’re an Android user, you should keep an eye on your Google storage. As of July 7, all data included in your backups counts toward your limit (regardless of whether you have 15 GB for free or pay more through Google One). However, Google is also giving users more granular control over what is and isn’t backed up, so you can prevent exceeding your limit with excess or unnecessary data.
Google’s updated data retention policies
As Android Police describes , Android backups include app data, call history, contacts, device settings, and SMS and MMS data, among other things. Previously, only images and videos uploaded to Google Photos and MMS counted toward Google’s storage quota, but now all data from Android backup settings will be included.
This isn’t the only recent update to Google’s storage. In May, Google began testing a new policy that limits some new Gmail users to just 5GB of free cloud storage—down from the 15GB available since 2013 —unless they link a phone number to their Google account. While the initial testing appears to have primarily affected users in African countries, it’s possible that in the future, users will be required to upgrade to paid plans to access more storage. Google’s own support page states that each Google account includes “up to 15GB of storage,” outlining what counts toward your quota.
Manage Android backups to free up device storage space.
According to Google, the new settings will only increase the size of Android backups by 40 MB, so most users likely won’t have to worry too much about exceeding the limit if they were already close. However, if you need to manage space, Google also allows users to exclude SMS/MMS messages, call history, device settings, and/or app data from backups.
On your Pixel, these toggles are located under Settings > Accounts & Backup > Google Backup > Other Device Data . Simply disable anything you don’t need or want to back up. You can also find “Backup” in your device’s settings.
There are a few more things to consider when it comes to Google’s storage limits. In February, Google announced it would begin copying and uploading local files from the Downloads folder on Android to Google Drive, and now it’s rolling out a document backup feature that covers file types like .DOC, .PPT, .XLS, and .PDF. If you don’t want this to take up space, you can adjust the settings in your device’s settings.
Finally, if you’re running low on storage space, Google has a support page where you can free up space and troubleshoot storage issues. I’ve also written a guide on creating a comprehensive backup plan that doesn’t rely solely on one storage method.