Running out of phone storage? Google is working on Automatic Backup feature to help you, how it may work

Running out of storage on a smartphone is something most of us have experienced. You click a few photos, record some videos, install a handful of apps and suddenly your phone starts warning you that storage is almost full. Unless you own a phone with huge storage capacity, this problem will likely return again and again. Now, it looks like Google may be working on a new feature that could solve this problem.

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While digging through Google Play Services (v26.15.31 beta), Android Authority has discovered a new feature called Automatic Backup. This feature could allow users to automatically back up files from their phone directly to their PC without using cloud storage. The feature reportedly appears within the settings of Quick Share with a short description, ‘Backup your photos with devices in your household.’

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How the Google Automatic Backup feature may work

The Automatic Backup feature may automatically copy selected files from a smartphone to a computer. Instead of uploading your photos and videos to the cloud, the files would be transferred and stored locally on your PC. Users may also get control over what exactly gets backed up. The settings may provide these options: Photos taken with the camera, Videos captured with the camera, and Audio files.

There will also likely be a toggle to enable or disable the feature whenever needed. If you don’t want to wait for automatic syncing, you may be able to start the process manually using a ‘Back up now’ button.

Deleting files from your phone won’t remove them from the PC backup, as per the report. This means you can safely clear storage on your phone without worrying about losing your saved files.

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Since the feature is part of Quick Share, it will likely use the same device-to-device transfer system. That means the transfer may not require internet connectivity. Also, you will probably need to sign in to the same Google account on both devices.

It’s important to note that this discovery comes from an APK teardown, which means the feature is still under development. While it gives us a good idea of what Google may be working on, there’s always a chance that it might change or never reach a public release.

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Ayushi Jain

Ayushi works as Chief Copy Editor at Digit, covering everything from breaking tech news to in-depth smartphone reviews. Prior to Digit, she was part of the editorial team at IANS. View Full Profile