Google Changes Android Backups: You Can Now Choose App by App

Google has started rolling out per-app backup controls for Android, a feature that allows users to choose which applications to save in their Google account and which to exclude. The update is found under Settings > Accounts & backup > Google Backup > Other device data, where a new section labeled "App Data" appears.

Until yesterday, that screen only displayed a generic entry, "Apps and app data," with a total count and the occupied space. Now, however, the system lists the top three applications by data volume saved, alongside the actual amount of bytes stored in the cloud. Tapping "Show more" opens the full list, including apps that have nothing to sync, marked with the label "No data saved."

Google changes the backup on Android: single deactivation and function limits The backup remains active by default for each application, but now next to each entry, there is a dedicated switch. Disabling it warns that the data for that app will be deleted from the Google account and that the device will no longer save new data from that point on.

However, the granular control does not extend to the "Device Data" section, which remains managed as a block and includes SMS and MMS messages, call logs, and system settings. For that content, the user can only activate or deactivate the backup as a whole, without distinctions.

This feature follows a few months after the redesign of backup settings introduced in August 2025, when Google had already reorganized the main menu to more clearly separate entries related to apps, system data, and device data. That initial intervention laid the technical groundwork for the per-app control that has now arrived.

The rollout, observed on Pixel devices with stable Android 16 and Android 17 paired with version 26.24 of Google Play Services, is not yet present on the Samsung smartphones tested by the source. This indicates that it is a server-side implementation, activated gradually and not tied to a manually downloadable system update.

In parallel, Google has also updated the Google One app for Android with an edge-to-edge design, addressing the status and navigation bars that were excluded from the previous Material 3 Expressive redesign. A minor detail, but one that completes the picture of constant maintenance of the ecosystem related to backups.

For those managing dozens of applications with access to personal data permissions, the ability to exclude individual entries from cloud backup represents a previously absent margin of control. For instance, it becomes possible to keep out of the cloud the data from a home banking app or encrypted messaging app while still maintaining backup for the rest of the installed ecosystem.

For those who already own a Pixel, it's worth checking the new panel: in some cases, the backup is active for apps that no longer need continuous synchronization, taking up space in the account without a real benefit during restoration.