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Whether it’s photos, apps, or text messages, keeping your phone backed up to the cloud is one of the most important things you can do to keep your data safe. No gadget is infallible, and in the event of a major mishap that leaves your device destroyed or unable to turn on, you always want to make sure as much as possible is secure. Google is giving a big boost to its backup software for Android, overwriting the current system with a new “Backup by Google One” interface.

As first reported by 9to5Google, Backup by Google One streamlines the already-existing services you’ll find on Android today. Last summer, Google expanded its backup client to all Android and iOS users, regardless of whether they were subscribed to Google One. This update goes a step beyond that, reorganizing all backups into one single space to help make saved data more obvious to users.

Left: Current Google One backup settings. Middle, right: Backup by Google One settings.

This new “Backup by Google One” initiative will combine the already-existing menu found in the standard Settings menu with the control panel available on Google One. Google intends to combine these settings into a single system page. That’ll make it a lot easier to view and manage existing backups, no matter whether they’re free or paid customers. Likewise, content that could only be managed from Google One backups — including photos, videos, and MMS messages — will finally be accessible from within the default Android settings menu.

Though this change will come to phones running Android 8.0 and up over the coming weeks, it’s not replacing the Google One menu that currently exists. You’ll still be able to access your backups from the One app or the web client. We’ll have to wait until the feature arrives on all devices to see how it compares to the current setup.


Now available

It’s been a little over a month since we got our first look at Google’s simplified backup menu, and it’s finally starting to appear on Android devices (via 9to5Google). If you grab your phone and head to your “Backup” options under “System,” you should be greeted with a “Backup by Google One” toggle that enables and disables all data storage with a single switch.

The menu looks pretty similar to what we saw last month, with a complete list of “Backup details” showing what’s uploaded on your account. Tapping “Manage storage” loads the Google One app, while a toggle at the bottom of the menu allows backing up over mobile data.

This change seems pretty widespread already — a rarity for server-side updates. I can confirm I’ve seen the new layout on both Android 11 and Android 12 devices. If you’re curious about Google’s new storage strategy, go dive into your phone’s backup settings to see if you have it yet.