After Google’s change of position with free WhatsApp backups, it is a good idea to reduce their size if you want to continue using them.
WhatsApp is one of the most important applications in Spain, and that is why the change that Google announced regarding the backup of this app on its servers affects so many people. It won’t be long until the change takes effect, so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your backup in case it’s needed at some point.
Most people do not change their cell phone regularly, but when they do many times they do not want to lose the conversations, chats and multimedia elements of their WhatsApp history. To do this, you have the possibility of connecting this app with the Gmail account of your Android mobile and uploading a copy of your data there.
Until now this copy was free, and did not take up space in the 15 GB that Google gives to all users, without having to pay for Google One. However, the Mountain View company announced that Starting in December, the GB occupied by the backup would be subtracted from the 15 GB. And this is more important than it seems, because between videos and photos it is very possible that the backup itself could collapse all that space.
WhatsApp backup is located in the menu Settings, Chats, Backup. In that section you can see where the copy is being made as well as the space it uses. In the example in the image, the copy only occupies 546 MB, but that is because the storage of the videos, which is what occupies the most, has been disabled.
To do this, and prevent the copy from taking up too much space, you just have to click on the Include videos option to turn it off. This will allow you to continue maintaining the backup, but without including the videos, so they will be lost when moving from one mobile phone to another, unless they are saved somewhere else.
Finally, if you want to delete the WhatsApp backup because it takes up too much space on Google Drive, it is possible to do so on the service’s website, by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right corner, and there selecting Setting. Press on Manage applications and search WhatsApp. In that section, click on Options and then on Disconnect from Drive.
