In many ways, Google Messages is a big step forward for texting on Android, but in others it’s a trap. Just as using Google Messages makes it extremely difficult to transfer your number to any other texting app, enabling backups in Google Messages also has unintended disadvantages.
Google will only back up your text messages to Google Drive
I hope you trust Google for all your conversations.
Your activity in Messages gives Google information about all your text conversations. It’s massive access to parts of our private lives that Google couldn’t yet access through Gmail, giving the company more access to information about us that can feed its advertising machine and potentially train its artificial intelligence models. While some Google Messages conversations are encrypted, not all are.
Most of us have made our peace with this agreement. The thing is, Gmail is enabled in a way that Google Messages is not. If you want to send RCS messages on Android, you need to access the Google app. You can’t just switch providers like you can with email.
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The Google Pixel 10a is a barely updated version of the Google Pixel 9a, with a slightly brighter display and an upgrade from Gorilla Glass 3 to Gorilla Glass 7i. Google has trimmed the remaining few millimeters of the camera bump, making it completely flat. Unlike previous versions of the Pixel a series, this model year does not share the same Tensor processor as the main Pixel 10.
Once you’re signed in to Google Messages, Google will only offer to back up your messages to Google Drive. If you prefer backup those messages to Proton DriveYou will first have to export your text messages from Google Messages.
Don’t be surprised if you quickly run out of storage space
Google wants you to buy more data
The more you use Google Messages, the more backups you will have. Backing up text is one thing, but photos are another. With the improved quality of modern phone cameras, the photos we send to each other can consume quite a bit of data.
It’s no surprise that any backup takes up more space over time, but it’s easy to overlook when something is happening silently in the background. To find out how much space Google is taking up, you need to delve into the app’s settings. Chances are you won’t even think about doing it until Google notifies you that your Drive is full.
Google Messages is not a backup solution you can trust
A single backup is not really a backup
When backing up your data, it is useful to follow the 3-2-1 rulethat is, three copies of your data in at least two formats, one of them off-site.
This general rule generally applies to the files on our PC, such as documents, photos, and videos. In truth, it is a good practice for any data that we do not want to disappear.
Text messages are not like other types of data. Cloud-based text messages are stored on remote servers, not on our hardware. Service providers typically keep multiple copies of our files to keep our data secure and maintain maximum uptime. Google Messages is something different.
SMS has never been the type of text messages stored perpetually on servers. Operators hold the copies long enough to ensure they reach their destination, and after that they just keep track of who is sending messages to whom. Google Messages introduces end-to-end encryption, further reducing the need to keep a copy online. In any case, the data is stored on your device and if you want to recover it when you change devices, you must connect directly to your old phone or keep a backup.
When you back up your messages to Drive, Google only keeps one copy. If you lose your phone and your backup is corrupted, your text messages will disappear. So much for tranquility.
What should you do instead?
That depends on your objectives.
If you prefer to do without Google, unfortunately you will feel a little frustrated. Getting away from Google Messages is a painSo much so that I recently got a new phone number just so I could continue receiving group messages on devices that don’t come with Google Messages (in my case, the Murena Fairphone 6—But you experience the same headache if you switch to a Light phone 3 or the side phone). That said, you at least have the option to use Google Messages without signing in to a Google account.
Whether you’re signed in to a Google account or not, there is a third-party app you can use to create backups of your text messages. This app is aptly called SMS Backup & Restore. You can generate backups and store them in any location you want, whether it’s a local drive or an alternative to Google Drive.
Your messages are still your messages.
In many ways, Google Messages is a walled garden like iMessage. Fortunately, while some freedoms have been lost in the transition to RCS, you can still back up your conversations.
