Backing Up Your Data Automatically Just Changed

On October 8, 2026, Microsoft began selling Microsoft 365 Family and Premium with 2 TB of OneDrive storage shared by up to six people, where the Family plan used to give each person 1 TB of their own. Existing subscribers move to the shared pool at their first renewal on or after May 2, 2027. Google, meanwhile, now counts all Android backup data against your Google storage. If your phone, PC and photos back up automatically, check your household's total use before your next renewal: a full account can stop taking new backups.

Key takeaways

New and upgraded Microsoft 365 Family and Premium plans now include 2 TB of shared storage. In August 2026 the same Family plan, at the same $129.99 a year, offered up to 6 TB (1 TB per person). Microsoft says families over the new limit can keep accessing their files for up to one year.
Google's storage policy now says all Android backup data counts toward your Google Account storage: texts, call history, device settings and app data. A Google spokesperson told 9to5Google it expects this to add about 40 MB on average.
Google Drive for desktop stopped backing up computer folders to Google Photos on August 10, 2026. Photos already uploaded stay where they are.
Microsoft extended its consumer Windows 10 Extended Security Updates program to October 12, 2027. Enrolled PCs carry on automatically.
Apple has made no comparable change for US iCloud users: 2 TB of iCloud+ still costs $9.99 a month in the US.

What it means for you

iPhone and iCloud users: Nothing comparable changed for US users this year. iCloud Backup leaves out photos and messages that already sync to iCloud, so the backup can be much smaller than the phone's contents. The photo library is usually what fills the plan. The worked example below shows the math.
Android and Google One users: Texts, call logs, settings and app data now count against your 15 GB of free storage or your paid plan. 9to5Google reports that Pixel phones on Android 16 and 17 are getting switches to turn off backup for individual apps, and that turning one off deletes that app's stored backup.
Windows PC users: Windows Backup copies your Desktop, Documents and other folders by syncing them to OneDrive, which is not a separate safety copy. Windows 10 owners have another year of security updates (see the FAQ).
Mac users: Time Machine works as before. If you used Google Drive for desktop to feed a folder into Google Photos, that stopped on August 10, on Mac and Windows alike. Google's replacement backs up folders automatically only in a Chromium-based browser such as Chrome or Edge, and only while a Google Photos tab is open or the Photos web app is running.
People on free tiers: You get 5 GB from Apple, 5 GB from Microsoft and 15 GB from Google. Once you're over at Google or Microsoft, photo and file uploads stop, and so does sending and receiving email.
Families sharing a plan: New Microsoft 365 Family and Premium plans now work like Apple and Google, with one pool for the whole household; existing plans switch at their first renewal on or after May 2, 2027. A household above 2 TB combined will need to delete files, buy more space or switch services.
People with older devices: A Windows 10 PC enrolled in extended updates is covered through October 12, 2027. After that, plan to upgrade or replace it.

What changed, with dates

Checked against each company's own pages as of October 10, 2026; dates found only in press reports are marked.

Date	Company	Change	Who it affects
Feb. 16, 2026	Google	Google Play services v26.06 adds local file backup, which saves downloaded documents to Google Drive.	Android phones; uses Google storage
June 25, 2026	Microsoft	An editor's note on the Windows blog extends consumer Windows 10 security updates to Oct. 12, 2027.	Windows 10 home PCs
Late June 2026 (press report)	Google	Per-app backup switches appear on Pixel phones running Android 16 and 17. Turning one off deletes that app's stored backup.	Pixel first; other brands not confirmed
July 7, 2026 (press report)	Google	All Android backup data counts toward storage for new users. Existing users got an email in July saying it would apply to them 45 days later.	All Android users with Google backup on
Aug. 10, 2026	Google	Drive for desktop ends Google Photos backup.	Windows and Mac computers
Oct. 8, 2026	Microsoft	Shared storage applies to new and upgraded plans: 2 TB for Family and Premium, 5 TB for Pro.	New Microsoft 365 subscribers
May 2, 2027	Microsoft	Existing Family and Premium plans switch to shared storage at the first renewal on or after this date. Microsoft will email you before your renewal.	Current Microsoft 365 subscribers

The Microsoft 365 storage pool

The old model gave each Family member a private 1 TB. An archived August 11, 2026 copy of Microsoft's plan page lists Family as "Up to 6 TB of secure cloud storage (1 TB per person)." The current page shows the same $12.99 a month or $129.99 a year with "2 TB of shared, secure cloud storage." For a full six-person household that is two-thirds less space, though one person can now use more than 1 TB.

Sharing the pool doesn't share files. Upgrading before May 2, 2027 moves a plan to the shared model right away; downgrading alone doesn't. Microsoft says existing Family and Premium customers "who meet eligibility requirements in supported markets might receive bonus storage" at renewal, at no extra cost, and you can buy more, up to 10 TB in total. If the household goes over, Microsoft says you can keep accessing your files for up to one year while you sort it out. Personal still has 1 TB for one person.

The page doesn't say whether uploads continue during that year. Microsoft's general storage quota rules say an account over its limit can't upload, edit or sync new files, including camera-roll photos, and can't send or receive Outlook.com email. Until Microsoft says otherwise, treat "over quota" as "not backing up."

Android backups and Google storage

Google's storage policy page now says "All data managed through the Android backup settings is included in your Google Account storage." It lists SMS and MMS messages, call history, device settings and app data. Before, according to 9to5Google, only photos and videos uploaded to Google Photos and MMS data counted. The same Google page lists WhatsApp backups on Android separately: they also count toward your Google storage, and you can see their size or delete them in the Google One app under Storage.

Sync is not the same as backup

Most "automatic backup" settings are really sync, which keeps files identical on every device and in the cloud. That protects you if a laptop dies, but a deletion or a ransomware-encrypted file spreads everywhere too. Microsoft's help page on synced files says a synced online-only file you delete "is removed from all devices and from the cloud." Google's Drive trash page says that with Drive for desktop, trashing a file trashes it on every device.

Windows Backup works this way. Microsoft says backing up folders "syncs the folders you specify to your OneDrive account." It also saves apps, settings and Wi-Fi passwords, but it doesn't image the whole drive. A true backup is a separate copy that a mistake on your main device can't reach, such as an external drive you unplug after each run. Apple's Time Machine works that way on a Mac: hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily ones for the past month and weekly ones for all earlier months, with the oldest deleted when the disk fills.

Restore windows if something goes wrong

Cloud services give you a limited window to undo deletions or bad edits.

Service	What you can get back	How long
OneDrive, personal account	Files in the recycle bin	Deleted within the last 30 days
OneDrive with Microsoft 365	Restore your whole OneDrive to an earlier point; after automatic ransomware detection, Microsoft fills in a suggested restore date	Last 30 days; subscribers only
Google Drive	Trash; older versions of uploaded files	Trash: 30 days. Versions: may be deleted after 30 days or 100 newer versions unless marked "Keep forever"
iCloud Drive	Recently Deleted, then Data Recovery on iCloud.com	Removed from Recently Deleted after 30 days

If you don't notice a problem for five weeks, the standard 30-day windows at all four have closed; only Google Drive versions you marked "Keep forever" are sure to remain. That is why the long-standing 3-2-1 rule still matters. A 2012 guide produced for US-CERT, the federal team that is now part of CISA, puts it this way: keep 3 copies of any important file (1 primary and 2 backups), on 2 different media types, with 1 copy offsite. For most households: the device, a cloud copy and a usually unplugged external drive.

Illustrative family storage math

Illustrative example with hypothetical numbers: two adults and two teenagers back up phones, photos and two PCs to one family plan (1 TB treated as 1,000 GB).

Item	Assumption	Storage
Photo and video libraries	300 + 250 + 150 + 150 GB	850 GB
Phone device backups	4 phones × 15 GB	60 GB
PC folders (Desktop, Documents)	2 PCs × 100 GB	200 GB
Email	4 × 10 GB	40 GB
Total		1,150 GB (1.15 TB)

If all four phones are iPhones on iCloud+, or all four are Android phones on a Google plan, the household fits in 2 TB with 850 GB to spare. Microsoft 365 is different: full phone backups go to iCloud on an iPhone and to your Google Account on Android, not to OneDrive. On a Microsoft plan the shared pool holds the other 1,090 GB, and the 60 GB of phone backups still need iCloud or Google space. A 15 GB iPhone backup won't fit in iCloud's free 5 GB. To estimate how long the spare space lasts:

years until full = (plan size − current use) ÷ yearly growth
                 = (2,000 GB − 1,150 GB) ÷ 200 GB per year
                 = 4.25 years

Here, plan size is the storage you pay for, current use is the total above, and yearly growth is how much your libraries add each year. The 200 GB figure is an assumption; compare two storage-meter readings taken months apart to estimate yours.

Prices as of October 10, 2026, from each company's US pricing page:

Apple iCloud+ 2 TB: $9.99 a month, or $119.88 a year, shared with up to five family members.
Google AI Plus 2 TB: $9.99 a month ($119.88 a year), shared with up to five others. Google's 2 TB tier now includes Gemini AI features; an annual option saves "up to 16%."
Microsoft 365 Family: $129.99 a year, or $12.99 a month ($155.88 a year), with 2 TB shared for new plans plus the Office apps.

Paid monthly, Apple and Google come to $119.88 a year, against Microsoft's $129.99 yearly price: about $10 apart, or roughly $2.50 to $2.71 per person per month. Google's annual billing may cut its price further. Which phones the family uses matters more than price, because that decides which cloud the phone backups must go to.

Now change one assumption. A six-person household on an existing Microsoft 365 Family plan uses 700, 600, 400, 300, 300 and 300 GB, or 2,600 GB. Nobody is over 1 TB, so it fits today. After its first renewal on or after May 2, 2027, it will be 600 GB over the pool unless bonus storage covers the gap, and Microsoft doesn't list add-on prices. Google AI Pro, with 5 TB, costs $19.99 a month ($239.88 a year paid monthly). Apple's next tier, 6 TB, costs $29.99 a month, or $359.88 a year. Microsoft 365 Family costs $129.99 a year.

Frequently asked questions

Does iCloud Backup include my photos?

Not if iCloud Photos is turned on. Apple's iCloud Backup page says synced photos, videos and Messages in iCloud aren't included in the daily backup, because they're already stored in iCloud. If you turn off iCloud Backup, Apple keeps the existing backups for 180 days before deleting them.

When does an iPhone back up to iCloud on its own?

Apple's iPhone User Guide says iCloud backs up the phone daily when it is connected to power, locked and connected to Wi-Fi. On 5G models, your carrier may let you turn on Back Up Over Cellular. A phone rarely charged on Wi-Fi can go a long time without one, so check the last backup date.

Does Storage saver in Google Photos avoid using storage?

No. Google's backup quality page says Original quality, Storage saver and Express all count toward your Google storage. Only photos backed up in the reduced-quality tiers before June 1, 2021 don't count. Storage saver shrinks photos over 16 MP to 16 MP and videos above 1080p to 1080p. Express, where it's available, goes down to 3 MP and 480p.

What happens when my Google storage is full?

Google's storage policy says you can't send or receive Gmail messages, and mail sent to you is returned to the sender. Drive stops syncing and uploading new files, and Google Photos can't back up any photos or videos. The page doesn't say what happens to Android device backups, so check your backup status if the storage meter turns red.

Is a full OneDrive backup required for free Windows 10 updates?

No. Microsoft's consumer ESU page lists three ways to enroll: free if you are syncing your PC settings, 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points, or a one-time $30 purchase. The PC must run Windows 10 version 22H2 (Home, Pro, Pro Education or Workstations edition) with the latest updates and be signed in with an administrator Microsoft account that isn't a child account. One license covers up to 10 devices. Coverage runs through October 12, 2027.

A 15-minute backup check

Read your storage meter. Look in iCloud settings, the Google One app or your Microsoft account storage page. Note the total and what's using it.
Add up the household. On a Microsoft 365 Family or Premium plan, add every member's usage and compare the total with 2 TB before your first renewal on or after May 2, 2027.
Prune Android backups. On a Pixel phone that has the new per-app switches, search "backup" in Settings and switch off apps you don't need restored. Remember that this deletes their stored backup. On any Android phone, check WhatsApp's backup size in the Google One app.
Re-point desktop photo backups. If Google Drive for desktop used to send a folder to Google Photos, set up the replacement or another method.
Make one copy that sync can't touch. Plug in an external drive and run Time Machine, or copy your key folders onto it, then unplug it. Repeat on a schedule you'll actually keep.
Test a restore. Recover one deleted file from the cloud and one from the drive, so you know both work before you need them.