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Your WhatsApp chat backups on Android won't be free anymore (www.androidauthority.com)
submitted 2 years ago by ijeff@lemdro.id to c/android@lemdro.id
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[-] derin@lemmy.beru.co 88 points 2 years ago

I mean, makes sense to me. You're storing your data on someone else's servers, makes sense that it would count towards your storage quota on said servers.

Having said that, it's really shitty that they've removed local backups (and that they don't allow other third party services beyond Google Drive and Apple iCloud).

Another reason to not use WhatsApp (or to use another backup solution), I guess.

[-] MudMan@kbin.social 17 points 2 years ago

Well, that depends on context. Let's say it makes less sense if you built your entire userbase on the back of handing off free storage for decades only to reverse course later after you've amassed a captive userbase in the literal billions of people.

But hey, I'm not gonna relitigate enshittification now. We all know.

FWIW, my current Whatsapp backup is 4GB, 1.5 without video backup. Google Drive gives out 20 for free, but they already made the same move regarding Gmail storage, so most of that is full. I have a paid account, but it's a work account and my personal chat logs do not belong there. Not using whatsapp is not an option. Just this week my vet sent me text messages over it. They didn't ask if I use it, they just assumed it because, again, captive audience in the billions. Whatsapp is just how texting works here.

[-] JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee 7 points 2 years ago

Many people where I am also use WhatsApp. I don't, because I don't use Facebook apps. It hasn't caused me many issues, and in the few cases where someone won't switch to Telegram or contact me on another platform, I accept that same as I accept that when using Lemmy I won't get the same content I would on Reddit.

[-] MudMan@kbin.social 16 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I didn't say many.

I said everybody.

I don't think I know a single person that texts over anything but Whatsapp. Businesses will reach out that way if they have your number. The government, too, sometimes. Every single person I know defaults to it and nothing else. My parents do. All my friends do. I may be able to convince a few of those to swap, but there is no way I'm convincing all of them. Again, "swap" here includes SMS texting. I'm saying this applies to all communications over phone that aren't direct phone calls. Scratch that, actually, most of these people also default to Whatsapp for voice calls.

The one exception is that some of my foreign friends do use a different app. They use Facebook Messenger.

You can use Whatsapp and something else. You can't get rid of Whatsapp.

[-] JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee 5 points 2 years ago

You can't get rid of Whatsapp.

I can repeat, if you like. WhatsApp is not installed on my phone. Everyone I care about talking to uses Telegram. I understand it may not be as easy in your case to get people to switch, but if it's either Telegram, Signal, or nothing, and they care about speaking to you, they'll switch.

[-] MudMan@kbin.social 12 points 2 years ago

No, it's not "as easy in my case", it's impossible in my entire country.

It'd mean not having contact with friends, family, work clients, businesses and plenty of other conveniences.

I'm glad you're self-sufficient enough to not interact with humans on the basis of their messaging app, but here in the real world, if a client gives me their Whatsapp contact and I point them at Telegram I look like a weirdo who suddenly wants to have a ten minute conversation about social media instead of doing their actual job.

So I can repeat, if you like. You can't get rid of Whatsapp.

[-] JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee 5 points 2 years ago

If they give you their WhatsApp number, it's the same as their phone number, and you can just use SMS without them noticing.

[-] MudMan@kbin.social 8 points 2 years ago

I mean, no, they'll notice. The messages would appear on a different app.

But me texting them is not the issue, people don't remove their text message app. The issue is them wanting to text me, entering my phone number on Whatsapp and having it not be there.

Never mind that a number of these interactions are using groups and other tools. So no, it's not an option. You may as well tell people you don't have a phone or you refuse to interact through anything other than wax-sealed letters. Is it possible? Yes, sure, the post will deliver those. Does it make sense? Not at all.

People underestimate to what extent Meta apps have supplanted signfiicant chunks of communications infrastructure in many places around the world. For all the crap people give to Musk's little hostage crisis on Twitter, it's peanuts compared to Meta's stranglehold. Americans in particular don't realize how hard they already won social media.

[-] Zeroxxx@lemmy.my.id 5 points 2 years ago

Nobody answers SMS here. It is fucking expensive for a fucking message.

Even 2FA is now over WhatsApp.

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[-] HidingCat@kbin.social 3 points 2 years ago

So how do you participate in the work chat with just SMS? Lots of informal collaborations in both my last role and current role needed and needs WhatsApp, with both internal and external stakeholders. I literally cannot do my jobs without WhatsApp.

Delivery services will contact you on WhatsApp as proof that the delivery was made, disputes are much harder to solve without it.

Many businesses use WhatsApp as part of their chat support (luckily, not the banks, small wins at least). Talk to a person on the phone? Good luck.

These are just the examples off the top of my head; I feel like so many here are naive on what it's like to live in a modern, digital society.

[-] ladfrombrad@lemdro.id 5 points 2 years ago

You can't get rid of Whatsapp.

Very true, but you can also never ever give them your number and then get funny looks from friends, colleagues, and pretty much everyone in the UK.

I for one am proud of getting those funny looks.

[-] MudMan@kbin.social 6 points 2 years ago

Well, some of us need our phones for work, so...

...also not an option.

Kinda need people to be able to reach me. You know, for continuing to survive and stuff.

[-] ladfrombrad@lemdro.id 6 points 2 years ago

It is an option, believe me, you're just doing what your employer tells you to.

But they can't force you to use WhatsApp unless you signed a contract of employment stating so? And if you did that the onus falls on you.

[-] MudMan@kbin.social 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

My employer is me.

I'm doing what my clients tell me, because it's generally considered to be a good business practice to not argue with one's clients unless you have a good reason to do so.

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[-] Zeroxxx@lemmy.my.id 2 points 2 years ago

Good luck telling employers around the world 'no like WhatsApp, begone!'.

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[-] Zeroxxx@lemmy.my.id 2 points 2 years ago

Some people just preach without critical thinking, like person above you.

[-] HidingCat@kbin.social 3 points 2 years ago

Have to use WhatsApp to function in society though, where I am. At least, those messages aren't really that important in the long run so they don't need to be backed up, so no loss there for me.

[-] melroy@kbin.melroy.org 2 points 2 years ago

I also don't use Facebook apps :)

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[-] kib48@lemm.ee 3 points 2 years ago

google drive gives out 20? I only have 15

[-] MudMan@kbin.social 3 points 2 years ago

Maybe I got grandfathered in? I don't know, at some point obscuring their own rules became part of the dumb playbook of all these tech corpos.

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[-] nottheengineer@feddit.de 15 points 2 years ago

You're storing unencrypted data on google drive with those backups, so they scan all of your chats. Whether they just look for malware/CSAM or people manually look through your chats is something you'll never know.

[-] skullgiver@popplesburger.hilciferous.nl 13 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

[This comment has been deleted by an automated system]

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[-] GenderNeutralBro@lemmy.sdf.org 10 points 2 years ago

WhatsApp supports encrypted backups: https://faq.whatsapp.com/1246476872801203/

[-] lowleveldata@programming.dev 2 points 2 years ago

I mourn for the poor worker who needs to look through all my dick pics

[-] kratoz29@lemm.ee 9 points 2 years ago

Having said that, it's really shitty that they've removed local backups

Every day I love Swiftbackup more, indeed I have been using this solution even for WhatsApp.

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[-] voracread@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago

When did they remove local backups? Or is it removed for someone who has opted for Google Drive backup?

I never chose cloud option, so I have my local backup. Android by the way.

[-] Magiccupcake@startrek.website 6 points 2 years ago

But it's text, an entire persons message history can be stored very cheaply.

A million words is only 2MB.

Most people are expexted to text less than 10 millions words in a lifetime.

An entire persons lifetime message history is only 20MB, that's trivial to store.

If they want to charge to save media, thats fine, but text backups should be free

[-] GenderNeutralBro@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 2 years ago

Does it have an option to back up only text, without images and other media?

I don't use WhatsApp, but my Signal backup is several gigs because of images and videos.

[-] Zeroxxx@lemmy.my.id 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

In WhatsApp it is possible to back up only text and images, without video. Not modular enough though

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[-] Zeroxxx@lemmy.my.id 2 points 2 years ago

WhatsApp bundles them together, that is the problem. Google does not know how to differentiate it.

[-] ransomwarelettuce@lemmy.world 23 points 2 years ago

Yeah whatsapp sucks, but I am tired of trying to convincing my family to switch.

Supposedly because of the EU, they are working on interoperability with other apps.

Just waiting to delete that spyware app.

[-] aprnu@feddit.ch 23 points 2 years ago

Hopefully they will make it costly enough so that the people will stop using it and as a result choke MetaZucc's AI data training and research

[-] woelkchen@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago

Hopefully they will make it costly enough so that the people will stop using it and as a result choke MetaZucc’s AI data training and research

Who do you think "they" is? It's not like Google would offer free storage for anything but maybe its own service anyway.

[-] Mr_nutter_butter@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago

We can hope but it's the standard nearly everywhere no one will leave esaily

[-] regbin_@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

WhatsApp is e2e encrypted tho

[-] hh93@lemm.ee 7 points 2 years ago

The backups aren't unless you specifically set it up which I guess most people don't

[-] redditReallySucks@lemmy.dbzer0.com 20 points 2 years ago

Never saw auch a clickbait title.

the backups will count towards your 15gb free quota

Most people do not have a full google drive. This only includes a small portion of the whatsapp users who use google backups.

[-] TheMadnessKing@lemdro.id 3 points 2 years ago

I have seen people having WhatsApp Backup of upwards of 5-8 GB

[-] Anti_Weeb_Penguin@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 years ago

Hope that sh*t goes bankrupt once and for all.

[-] Zeroxxx@lemmy.my.id 4 points 2 years ago

Narrator: no it will not, not anytime soon.

[-] fishcurry509@lemmy.world 12 points 2 years ago

There's also an option to transfer your chats to another device without backing up to Google drive, but it obviously works only as a transfer tool not as a backup.

[-] TheMadnessKing@lemdro.id 5 points 2 years ago

High time WhatsApp allowed backup to other cloud solutions like Dropbox/OndeDrive/others

[-] shiveyarbles@beehaw.org 4 points 2 years ago

Nothing Is for sale, everything is cloud based subscription, dlc's, and micro transactions. And you're also the product.

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this post was submitted on 14 Nov 2023
169 points (100.0% liked)

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