WhatsApp: Are WhatsApp photos and videos being saved twice in your Google account? Change this setting immediately..

If your Google account storage keeps filling up, WhatsApp photos and videos could be a major reason. On many Android phones, these files get saved twice to your Google account, causing cloud storage to fill up rapidly. The good news is that you can avoid this issue by simply changing a small setting. This way, your WhatsApp backup remains intact without unnecessarily consuming your Google storage.

**Why WhatsApp files get saved twice**
Running out of storage space has become a common issue for Android users. Recently, Google started including Android device backups in the Google account storage limit. Consequently, checking your backup settings has become more important than ever. Photos and videos received on WhatsApp are initially saved in a specific folder on your phone. If "Backup device folders" is enabled in Google Photos, these same files get uploaded there as well. Additionally, WhatsApp saves them to Google Drive as part of its own backup process. As a result, the same file is stored twice, rapidly filling up your Google account storage.

**No need to disable the entire WhatsApp backup**
You don't need to turn off the entire WhatsApp backup to solve this problem. Instead, a better approach is to disable the backup specifically for the WhatsApp folder within Google Photos. Doing this ensures your WhatsApp chats and media continue to be backed up as usual, but duplicate copies of those files won't be saved in Google Photos. This helps save Google account storage and eliminates the need to use up cloud storage unnecessarily.

**How ​​to disable WhatsApp folder backup**
To do this, first open the Google Photos app on your Android phone. Next, tap on your profile picture in the top-right corner. Go to "Photos settings" and select the "Backup" option. Scroll down to find the "Back up device folders" option. Tap on it and toggle off the backup switch next to the WhatsApp folder. Once done, WhatsApp photos and videos will no longer be saved to Google Photos. 

These options can also help save storage space.
If you wish to manage your Google storage more effectively, you can adjust the backup frequency within WhatsApp settings. Additionally, to keep the backup size down, you can choose to exclude videos from the backup, as they tend to consume the most space. You can also use Google One's backup management tool to delete old backups, which helps free up extra space in your Google account.

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