Short answer: Starting July 7, 2026, every category of data in your Android device backup, not just Google Photos and MMS, counts against your Google Account's storage limit. That includes SMS messages, call history, device settings, and app settings. New backup users are already affected; existing users get a 45-day notice by email before it applies to them. Google says the average increase is 40MB, small for most people, but the real story is what this joins.
If you got an email titled "New Android Backup Storage Policy & Controls" this month, this is what it means and what to actually do about it.
What changed on July 7
Until now, Android's backup system quietly saved a lot of things to your Google Account for free. Photos and videos synced through Google Photos counted toward your 15GB baseline. So did MMS attachments. But your SMS thread with your landlord, your call log, and your device settings were backed up too, they just didn't touch your storage meter.
That gap is closing. Google's own support documentation now lists Android device backups as a category that consumes account storage, specifying four data types: SMS and MMS messages, call logs and history, device settings, and app data.
Rollout timing:
New Android backup users: affected immediately as of July 7, 2026
Existing users: a 45-day countdown starts when Google emails you, so most existing accounts land somewhere around late August to early September 2026
The email itself includes a personalized number, an "estimated increase in Android backup" based on what's currently in your account. One user shared their notice showed a 0.03GB (about 30MB) increase; another showed 0.11GB. Both track close to the 40MB average Google has quoted to multiple outlets.
What's new alongside the storage change
Google isn't just taking something away without a trade. It's shipping granular controls at the same time:
Control | What it does |
|---|---|
Per-data-type toggles | Turn off SMS/MMS, call history, or device settings individually |
Per-app backup controls | Choose exactly which installed apps get backed up (already rolling out separately) |
Storage visibility | Google One's storage manager now itemizes Android backup usage the same way it does Photos and Drive |
Requires Android 9 or higher. Path: Settings > Accounts and backup > Google Backup > Other device data. Or just search "backup" in your Settings app; it surfaces the same page.
The pattern nobody's connecting
Every article covering this frames it as a standalone update. Read the last five years back to back and it isn't one.
Date | What Google converted from free to counted |
|---|---|
2018 | WhatsApp Android backups explicitly exempted from Drive storage |
June 1, 2021 | Google Photos "High Quality" (later Storage Saver) and Express uploads start counting toward the 15GB free tier |
Nov 2023 to H1 2024 | WhatsApp Android backups reversed back into counting against Google Account storage, ending the 2018 exemption |
May 2026 | Google begins testing a reduced 5GB default for new accounts, unless the user links a phone number |
July 7, 2026 | SMS, call history, device settings, and app settings from Android backups start counting toward storage |
Look at the shape of it. Google hasn't touched the headline number, 15GB free, since the free tier existed. What it has done, four separate times over eight years, is move a category of data that used to be "free because Google decided not to count it yet" into the metered pool. Photos first. Then WhatsApp (twice, with a brief exemption in between). Then a lower default floor for new accounts. Now the rest of the Android backup stack.
None of that is illegal, sinister, or even unusual for a cloud provider managing infrastructure costs at Android's scale. But it means the honest way to read July's email isn't "small 40MB change," it's "one more entry in a list that's been growing since 2021, and the free tier that has to absorb all of it hasn't grown at all." That's the actual planning-relevant fact, and it's the one piece missing from every competitor's coverage of this specific update.
Does this recount data you already backed up?
This is the question the coverage so far skips, and Google's phrasing gives a partial but not complete answer. The support page states Android backup data "is included" in account storage going forward; the email frames the number as an "estimated increase," calculated against what's currently sitting in your account. That wording points toward the policy applying from the moment it switches on for your account rather than Google retroactively re-billing years of accumulated SMS and call-log backups you didn't know were there. But Google hasn't published exact mechanics of the calculation, so treat that as the most reasonable reading of available language, not a confirmed technical guarantee. If you want certainty for your own account, check the number yourself (next section) rather than relying on any outlet's interpretation, including this one.
Check your own numbers in under two minutes
Open the Google One app, or go to myaccount.google.com/storage on desktop
Look for the itemized breakdown under Drive, Gmail, Photos, and now Android device backup
Compare it against the "estimated increase" figure in Google's email if you've received one
If you're close to your 15GB free limit already, this is the moment to prune, not after the countdown ends and backups pause automatically
If your account has years of SMS history and you rarely clear your call log, your number will likely run above the 40MB average. If you're a light texter with a fairly new phone, you're probably at or below it.
Should you turn anything off?
Not automatically. Here's a reader-first way to decide, since "it depends" isn't useful:
Turn off device settings backup if you've never actually restored a phone from a Google backup and don't plan to switch devices soon. Lowest value, easiest to skip.
Keep SMS and call history on if you rely on backup-and-restore for device switches. Losing your call log the day you get a new phone is a worse trade than a few MB of storage.
Keep app data backups on for anything with login state or progress you'd hate to redo (games, productivity apps). This is usually the largest single contributor and the most annoying to lose.
If you're already near your 15GB cap, the faster win is cleaning old Gmail attachments and duplicate Photos uploads in Storage Saver quality, not fighting over backup toggles that add tens of megabytes.
What this doesn't affect
Worth stating plainly since panic headlines tend to overstate scope. This change doesn't touch:
Google Workspace education and enterprise accounts (WhatsApp's earlier 2023 to 2024 rollout excluded them, and nothing in this update's coverage suggests Android backups are different)
The free 15GB baseline itself, which stays unchanged; only what fills it changed
iOS backups, which have always counted against iCloud regardless of data type
Quick answers (FAQ)
When does this apply to my account?
Immediately if you're a new Android backup user as of July 7, 2026. If you're an existing user, 45 days after Google emails you.
How much extra storage will I actually use?
Google's stated average is 40MB. Individual emails have shown figures from roughly 30MB to 110MB depending on how much SMS, call, and settings history is already in your account.
Can I opt out entirely?
You can disable Android device backup altogether in settings, or selectively turn off individual data types (SMS/MMS, call history, device settings) while keeping the rest.
Does WhatsApp count separately?
Yes. WhatsApp Android backups have counted toward Google Account storage since the 2023 to 2024 rollout, and remain a separate line item from the Android device backup categories covered in this update.
Will my automatic backups just stop if I go over my limit?
Yes. Google has confirmed that if your account exceeds its storage limit after the policy applies, automatic Android backups pause until you free up space or upgrade your Google One plan.
