Google announced the latest edition of its mobile operating system Android on May 28. According to The Verge, they’ve named it “Android M.” The new system will be available later this year and comes with a slew of new features, including an automatic app data backup. Although most of the new updates like Android Pay replacing Google Wallet and faster charging with USB Type-C were announced at Google I/O, the tech giant announced automatic app data backup in an official developer entry.
Smartphone users can often spend a significant amount of time using a few select apps and customizing the settings within those apps to their specifications. With the new automatic app data backup feature, data and preferences within apps can be saved. That way, if the user breaks their smartphone or upgrades it, those preferences and data can later be restored.
In the developer entry, Google detailed how app data will be automatically backed up every 24 hours to Google Drive while the device is idle, charging, and connected to a Wi-Fi network. Uploaded data is encrypted. The best news is that the feature is totally free! When the device user installs a backed up app, a restore operation copies the saved data into the newly installed app’s data directory. With all that said, file size will be limited to 25MB per app.
Just because users have the option of backing up their app data and preferences doesn’t mean it’s mandatory. Google enabled automatic backup by default for devices running the Android M preview, but users can “opt out” of the new feature. Running backups is optional, but highly recommended. Users are also free to choose what data from their apps is backed up.
The preview of Android M, along with the new automatic app data backup feature, is available for download on the Android developer site. Users will need a Nexus 5, 6, 9, or Player to test the preview out. Those who don’t want to install a preview image on their device will have to wait until the full version of Android M is available.
While this new feature is great for individual smartphone users, it’s not enough to maintain a business. This program is designed to protect data for individual users, which means that data would be available only to that person. In other words, the information would be backed up, but your company wouldn’t have the ability to control the backup and the information within. Make sure your company has an efficient backup system in place, in case you need to replace one of your devices and wish to have data restored!