Google is making a change to how Android backups work, and if you’ve seen the headlines lately, you might be wondering if your free storage is about to vanish.
Here’s the short version: all Android backup data now counts toward your Google Account storage limit—but for most people, the impact is surprisingly small.
What’s Changing?
Previously, only Google Photos uploads and MMS media counted against your 15GB free storage quota. Everything else—SMS messages, call history, device settings, and app data—sat outside that limit.
Not anymore. Starting July 7 for new users, and rolling out to existing users with a 45-day notice period, all of that data now counts.
Google is sending emails to Android users with the subject line “New Android Backup Storage Policy & Controls,” giving people time to prepare before the change takes effect.
The Good News: It’s Tiny
Google says the average backup will only increase by about 40MB.
To put that in perspective: that’s smaller than a couple of high-resolution photos. Most people won’t even notice.
In one example reported by Android Authority, a user’s estimated increase was just 0.03GB—around 30MB. Unless you’re already right at the edge of your 15GB limit, this change probably won’t affect you at all.
What Actually Counts Now?
The newly counted data includes:
- SMS messages (the actual text)
- Call history
- Device settings
- App settings and app data
- Wallpapers and preferences
New Controls Give You More Say
Google is also rolling out granular backup controls so you can choose exactly what gets backed up.
On Pixel devices (and coming to other Android phones), you can find these under:
Settings > Accounts and backup > Google Backup > Other device data
From there, you can toggle off specific categories like SMS/MMS, call history, device settings, or individual apps.
What Happens If You Run Out of Space?
If your account exceeds its storage limit after the change, automatic Android backups will pause until you either free up space or upgrade your Google One plan.
One Quick Reality Check
This change isn’t the end of the world. The 40MB average increase is negligible for most users. If you’re already sitting at 14.9GB of used storage, though, now’s a good time to clean house—delete old Drive files, clear out large email attachments, or review your Google Photos.
And if you don’t want SMS or call history taking up space, the new toggles make it easy to opt out.
The bigger story here is the trend: free cloud storage is getting tighter. Google already started testing 5GB limits for some new accounts earlier this year. Android backups are just the latest piece to move into the shared pool.
For now? Check your storage, adjust your backup settings if needed, and move on with your day.
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