The beta version of WhatsApp reveals yet another coming feature for the messaging app: it is currently testing a new encrypted cloud backup service, a solution aimed at offering a tangible alternative to Google Drive and iCloud. The app backup typically takes up quite a bit of space, so having a proprietary feature could be useful for both Android and Apple users to save a few gigabytes.
WhatsApp beta version shows hints of a cloud backup service: new feature on the horizon as an alternative to Google Drive and iCloud
As usual in these cases, we note once again that the new feature has appeared in the beta: the WhatsApp team is working to implement the service, but it is not known when it will arrive.
Power users of the messaging app are well aware of the problem of backup sizes: WhatsApp allows saving chat history and all content directly to Google Drive and iCloud. However, the backup often occupies a significant portion of the cloud storage space available through these services.
Both Drive and Apple’s service offer a free plan, but as the backup sizes grow, limits are reached quickly. For this reason WhatsApp is working on a own cloud service: as revealed by the software analysis, the user will be able to choose which platform to use to save the backup.
However, the new service seems to have very limited capacity, up to 2 GB of free storage. Anyway, since these are a few details from a beta release, it’s not clear whether the free service will be for everyone or only for subscribers to WhatsApp Plus. In any case, at least one paid plan has emerged, which provides 50 GB of space for about $0.99.
The WhatsApp cloud backup also includes end-to-end encryption by default, to ensure users’ privacy. Clearly things could change during development, particularly regarding the price we mentioned above.
