Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

WhatsApp for Android has a great new feature to help you save memories forever

Published Oct 7th, 2015 2:00PM EDT
WhatsApp Android Google Drive Private Backup
Image: Fast Company

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

Hundreds of millions of people around the world use WhatsApp to stay in touch with friends and loved ones. Now they’ll have a way to save their favorite memories using the app forever thanks to new integration with Google Drive.

MUST READ: This is why a glass walkway 3,500 feet above ground was a bad idea…

As announced by Google and WhatsApp on Wednesday, the newest version of WhatsApp for Android lets you create private backups for several of the app’s key features, including chats, voice messages, and photos and videos that you share through it. WhatsApp says that this way, when you buy a new phone, “you can restore everything on a new device with just a couple taps.”

“Google Drive was an easy choice,” explains WhatsApp cofounder Brian Acton. “It offers the native Android experience we want for our users and the scale to grow with us.”

Although WhatsApp is a popular app on iOS, the majority of its 900 million users are on Android devices, which makes integration with Google Drive a natural fit. This new feature will start rolling out to WhatsApp Android users over the next few months.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.