A change was announced by Google and WhatsApp, in which, from December 2023 onwards, the chat and media archive of WhatsApp on Android would start to count toward a user’s cloud storage limit.
Starting December 2023, this change will begin to be rolled out for the Beta Users of WhatsApp and gradually extend to all users of WhatsApp on Android from 2024 onwards.
Google also announced its upcoming storage limits on WhatsApp: “If you choose to enable WhatsApp backups on Android, personal Google Accounts come with 15GB of storage at no charge – 3X more than most mobile platforms – that’s shared across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. “
As long as you have sufficient storage in your Google Account, your WhatsApp backups on Android will continue to work. You will have to free up space for the restart of backup by deleting items that are not needed if you exceed your storage limit.
However, Google will review this cap for its Personal and Workplace users.
Google’s personal or unpaid account holders are more likely to be affected than the Google Workspace subscription holders, who receive subscriptions through work or school, usually with a monthly subscription fee.
For personal users, Google added: “If you have a personal Google Account, our storage management tools can help you do things like removing large files or photos. You can also delete items directly from WhatsApp. Deleting items from WhatsApp deletes them from your cloud storage, reducing storage used by your next WhatsApp backup. You also have the option to get more storage with Google One. “
The company also announces for its Workplace subscribers, “If you have a Google Workspace subscription through work or school, your storage quota is not impacted at this time. “
Previously, Google announced it would set labels for AI-based content on Youtube.