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Google Will Auto-Delete Android Backups if Phones not Used for Long Periods

posted by janrinok on Sunday September 17 2017, @07:32PM   Printer-friendly
from the use-it-or-lose-it dept.

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow5743

Google will automatically [begin a delayed - Ed] delete all of a user's Android backup files — stored in his Google Drive account — if the user does not use his phone for two weeks. After Google detects this period of inactivity, it will start a 60-day counter for old Android backup files. After that counter reaches zero, Google will delete the backup files from the user's Drive account.

The auto-delete function was discovered this week by a Reddit user who used it to create backups for a defective Nexus 6P. The user sent back the phone, and while he waited for a replacement, he saw that his Nexus 6P backup files stored were marked for deletion.

[...] People who rely on Android's built-in Drive-based backup system should keep an eye out on the Backups folder. Storing backups offline or using specialized backup & restore Android apps is an alternative.

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/mobile/google-will-auto-delete-android-backups-if-users-dont-use-their-phones-for-2-weeks/

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by frojack on Sunday September 17 2017, @11:23PM (3 children)

    by frojack (1554) on Sunday September 17 2017, @11:23PM (#569522) Journal

    If you store your data on someone else's servers you should expect this.

    You should WANT this.
    Abandoned data is subpoena-able data.
    Just because you lost the phone in the lake is no reason to have google retain backups for the police to scoop up after you've moved to a new phone.

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by NotSanguine on Monday September 18 2017, @12:06AM (1 child)

    by NotSanguine (285) <{NotSanguine} {at} {SoylentNews.Org}> on Monday September 18 2017, @12:06AM (#569536) Homepage Journal

    Two Words: Very long passphrases [aescrypt.com].

    After two whole weeks, no one will remember such things. ;)

    Strong encryption and plausible deniability are a powerful combination.

    Besides, using some automated spying tool from Google to back up your unencrypted data, rather than strongly encrypting the data yourself and (only if necessary) uploading to Someone Else's ServersTM is rather dumb, don't you think?

    --
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    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 18 2017, @12:58PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 18 2017, @12:58PM (#569730)

      Two Words: Very long passphrases

      Hmmm … seems one of us has troubles counting. ;-)

  • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday September 18 2017, @06:54PM

    by bob_super (1357) on Monday September 18 2017, @06:54PM (#569851)

    > Just because you lost her phone in the lake is no reason to have google retain backups for the police to scoop up after you've moved to a new target.

    Fixed that for ... a friend who was asking.