Android users may soon get a new way to back up photos for free

Early reports suggest Samsung phones and PCs may not support the automatic backup feature.

Hyderabad: Android users who keep running into the “storage full” warning may soon have a way out that doesn’t involve paying for more cloud space, with Google adding automatic photo and video backups from Android phones to Windows PCs through Quick Share. And no subscription is needed.

The feature appears in Google’s November system release notes under Google Play services v26.43, dated November 2. Android Authority was the first to spot the entry.

From manual transfers to automatic backup

Quick Share, Android’s built-in wireless sharing tool, already lets users send photos, videos and documents to nearby Android devices and Windows PCs. On a growing list of phones, it can also send files to iPhones through Apple’s AirDrop. Until now, though, every transfer had to be started by hand.

The new option removes that step. Once it is turned on, Quick Share copies photos and videos from the phone to the PC by itself. The cloud plays no part in the backup. The Google account is only used to link the two devices.

How to set it up

Setup starts on the computer, not the phone. Open the Quick Share app for Windows, keep your phone nearby and switched on and make sure both devices are signed in to the same Google account. Then turn on automatic backup and choose what you want saved.

Code found by Android Authority in earlier versions of Play services shows how it should work. Selected photos and videos back up once a day while the phone and PC are switched on and connected to the same Wi-Fi network. A “back up now” button lets you start a backup at any time. 

Deleting a photo from your phone will not delete it from the PC.

Why it matters now

Google Photos is still how most Android users back up their pictures and those uploads count against the 15GB of free storage that comes with a Google Account. 

In July, Google went further. All Android backup data now counts towards that limit, including text messages, call history and device settings. The change applied to new backup users from July 7 and existing users were given 45 days’ notice by email. 

Google says the average backup grows by only about 40MB. For anyone already close to the limit, though, even that is unwelcome.

A copy on your own PC avoids the problem. It also does away with cables or with emailing files to yourself. There is one catch. A backup kept on a single computer is only as safe as that computer.

Samsung users may be left out

Samsung owners may not get the feature, at least at first. In July, Android Authority found code in Play services saying the feature would not support Samsung phones. 

An October teardown showed the restriction had spread to Samsung PCs too. Those users were told to install Samsung’s own Quick Share app from the Microsoft Store instead. Google has not explained the exclusion, and its release notes make no mention of Samsung, so it is unclear whether the restriction made it into the final release.

Don’t expect it overnight

A listing in the release notes does not mean the feature is live for everyone. Google Play services updates roll out in stages and features named in the changelog can take weeks or even months to reach every phone.