Tezzbuzz Desk – If your Google account’s storage is filling up faster than expected, one reason could be the photos and videos received on WhatsApp. Many Android users also have Google Photos backups of WhatsApp media enabled on their phones. WhatsApp may also have its own cloud backup set up separately. Therefore, it’s important for users to understand which data is being backed up where and whether the same media is unnecessarily taking up space in different backups.
Fortunately, you can turn off auto-backup of the WhatsApp media folder in Google Photos without turning off WhatsApp backups altogether. This prevents every WhatsApp photo and video from being automatically uploaded to Google Photos.
How can WhatsApp photos and videos fill up Google Storage?
Photos and videos received on WhatsApp are typically saved in the WhatsApp Media folder in your phone’s internal storage. If you’ve enabled backup of this device folder in Google Photos, media files stored there may also be uploaded to Google Photos. WhatsApp also supports chat backup. Therefore, if backup settings are enabled in both locations, WhatsApp media may be part of different backups, impacting your Google Account’s available storage.
It’s not necessary to turn off WhatsApp chat backups directly to save storage. Instead, you can turn off backups of only WhatsApp Images or other WhatsApp media folders in Google Photos. This will prevent new photos and videos received on WhatsApp from automatically uploading to Google Photos. You can also keep your WhatsApp backup settings on as needed. Keep in mind that turning off backups of a folder in Google Photos does not delete the files in that folder from your phone.
How to turn off WhatsApp Backup in Google Photos?
- First, open the Google Photos app on your Android phone. Then , tap your profile photo at the top .
- Now go to Photos Settings and open the Backup option. Here, find the option to Back up device folders .
- Inside, you’ll see the phone’s various folders. If the backup toggle next to the WhatsApp-related media folder is on, turn it off.
- After this, new photos and videos coming into that folder will not be automatically backed up to Google Photos.
Also check the backup of WhatsApp videos
Videos typically take up more storage than photos. If your WhatsApp backup size is constantly increasing, you can check the option to include videos in the app’s backup settings. Excluding unneeded videos from cloud backup can help reduce the size of your backup. However, it’s best to save important videos to a safe location before doing so.
Do this to free up Google Storage
When managing your Google account storage, check not only WhatsApp but also Google Photos, Gmail, and Google Drive for large and unnecessary files. Old videos, large email attachments, and useless files can take up a lot of storage. Periodically, you can identify these files using Google’s storage management options to increase available space.
Once the backup settings for WhatsApp and Google Photos are set correctly, unnecessary media uploads can be largely prevented. This will help you better manage your Google Account storage.