The deadline for free WhatsApp chat backups is drawing closer by the day now that 2024 has begun. As you may be aware, WhatsApp data will start counting in your Google Drive storage in early 2024, and the messaging app has provided hints regarding the changes that will be put into effect in the following months.
We were able to obtain the latest Android beta version of WhatsApp and we saw that the message was now appearing in the chat backups section of WhatsApp settings. The new pop-up says that in the coming months, WhatsApp backups will begin using your Google Drive storage.
WhatsApp even offers a storage review option that shows users how much storage their WhatsApp data is currently using. However, WhatsApp does not restrict your options and suggests that if you do not want to back up your chats to your Google account, you may transfer the chats to Android devices using the WhatsApp Chat Transfer tool.
The reasons for these changes have not been stated by WhatsApp or Google, although it is probable that the latter now feels that with the number of individuals using WhatsApp, free cloud storage is not feasible. However, it’s very important to keep in mind that users can keep backing up their data for free as long as they have available capacity inside their Google Account’s 15GB of free cloud storage or any additional purchased storage, like through Google One.