Currently, saving your WhatsApp messages means relying on outside services. If you use an Android phone, your backups go to Google Drive. On an iPhone, the app saves your chat history to Apple and its iCloud service. This shared setup quickly eats into the storage space you need for personal photos and videos. WhatsApp is now looking to fix this specific issue. It is currently testing its own cloud storage service for chat backups.
This move will let you store your data directly with the app instead of an outside provider.
WhatsApp plans to offer encrypted storage with flexible pricing
Instead of forcing you to use other clouds, WhatsApp wants to handle data on its own servers. The company is developing a system that keeps backups fully end-to-end encrypted by default. You will get to choose how to lock down your files. Options include a standard password, a long 64-digit key, or a passkey. A passkey is very handy because it lets you unlock backups using your phone’s screen lock or fingerprint.
Early details show that WhatsApp might start by giving users 2GB of free backup space. It is still undecided if this free tier will be for everyone or just users who pay for a WhatsApp Plus subscription. If you have years of photos and videos to back up, the app might offer a 50GB plan for roughly $0.99.
The company is keeping the new backup system in development
The option to pick WhatsApp as a primary backup provider is not ready for the public yet. It is still under active development and early testing. The pricing plans and storage limits could look very different by the time the feature actually launches.
The development team wants to test the feature in small stages. This careful approach helps the company make sure the new storage works perfectly with current security settings.
Eventually, the app will roll out the update to a small group of beta testers before a wider release. Giving users a direct storage option will help clear up valuable space on other cloud accounts.
