Google has made official the blocking of the backup on the Google Photos app of all images and videos downloaded from WhatsApp and other messaging apps: what changes
Google Photos was born five years ago and was designed primarily for users who needed a safe and easy-to-use space in which to store videos and photos made from their smartphones or sent via messaging apps.
So, the Mountain View giant had given users the ability to automatically transfer to the cloud space connected to Google Photos the content arrived on WhatsApp and other instant messaging apps. Over the years, the habit of exchanging photos, videos and other documents online has increased significantly. During the pandemic, the exchange was so dense that Google Photos was in danger of collapsing. This prompted the company to stop automatic backup. The decision is part of a revamp of features and aesthetics that will affect the app in the coming months.
Google Photos: why there is a stop to automatic backup
As many have noticed, Google Photos in recent days is introducing new features, but one will have very important consequences: automatic synchronization between the app and images from WhatsApp and other messaging apps will no longer be allowed.
The reason is related to the pandemic that has hit the entire Planet and that has had an almost unexpected consequence: the amount of messages and files exchanged between users around the world has increased exorbitantly and this has made Google's cloud storage platform almost collapse, so it has decided to block the automatic transfer of images, videos and all incoming documents from third-party apps. The update will be rolled out in the coming hours for all Android smartphones.
Google Photos: stop automatic backup
There are many people who, in order to save memory on their phones, have set up automatic transfer to the cloud storage service connected to Google Photos: the platform in fact allows you to save your images online and the operation can be performed automatically. Now, however, saving is no longer allowed with content downloaded from messaging apps, including WhatsApp.
The option can be changed at any time to go back to the previous Settings. To do so, you need to log into Google Photos and tap the Collection item present at the bottom of the screen, and from there tap Photos on Device and then View All. Next, you need to select the folder you want to back up from and then tap Backup and Sync.
How to back up to Google Photos
When the backup and sync feature is not active, you can still see all the content from messaging apps within your smartphone and back up the selected group of photos and videos. Of course, all files transferred before the change will not be touched. To make the backup in this case you need to always go to Collection on Google Photos and then to Photos on the device and View All. Then just tap on the folder or file to back up and then go to More and Backup.