Google stops storing WhatsApp and Instagram photos

Google will no longer back up images and videos from social media in its photo app.

Previously, the Google Photos application created a folder to store any media received through applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram.

Google said the changes were to save Internet resources as “people share more photos and videos” during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The function used bandwidth and occupied memory on the devices.

Earlier this year, YouTube and Netflix made similar moves to reduce Internet traffic as more people used broadband in their homes due to the coronavirus blockade.

An XDA developer told the Android Police news site that the following apps were affected:

• Facebook
• Hello
• Instagram
• LINE
• Messages
• Delivery courier
• Snapchat
• Twitter
• Viber
• WhatsApp

Photos and videos that have already been backed up from messaging apps are not affected, and you can turn the feature back on if you want to use it.

How to back up specific photos and videos:

• Open the Google Photos app.
• Click Library and then “Photos on device”, tap See all
• Touch the folder with the content you want to back up
• Select the photo or video you want to back up and then the option “Back up now”

How to change backup settings for device folders:

• Open the Google Photos app.
• Click Library and then “Photos on device”, tap See all
• Touch the folder you want to back up
• At the top, enable Backup and Sync.

Various apps like WhatsApp have their own in-app option to disable automatic media saving.

To disable the storage of WhatsApp photos and videos on iPhone:

• Open the WhatsApp application
• Click on “Settings” and then “Chats”
• Disable the button that says “Save to camera roll”.