WhatsApp might be free but a major update from Google could see millions facing shock new fees to view some of their chats. The US technology giant is changing its terms and conditions and it means all WhatsApp chat backups will now eat into Google's cloud storage.
For those not aware, Google offers all of its users a generous 15GB of data for free but go over that limit and you'll need to start forking out a monthly fee. Don't want to pay? Then you'll have to start ditching photos, videos and WhatsApp messages you have stored in the cloud.
The changes will start for some users next month with all WhatsApp fans who use Android devices then being hit by the update next year.
"As an important heads up, WhatsApp backups on Android will soon start counting toward your Google Account cloud storage limit, similar to how WhatsApp backups are handled on other mobile platforms," Google announced in a blog post.
"This change will first start rolling out to WhatsApp Beta users starting in December 2023, then gradually to all WhatsApp users on Android starting early next year."
Google has confirmed that WhatsApp backups on Android will continue to work, as long as you have available space within your Google Account storage.
As soon as you hit your storage limit, you’ll need to free up space to resume backups by removing items you do not need or pay a fee to boost the data.
For example, a standard 15GB account is free. The next option, which offers 100GB is £1.59 per month with things then rising to £2.49 per month for 200GB and £7.99 for 2TB.
These plans can all be managed via the Google One app on your phone.