Google One has been offering 100GB of cloud storage for under $20 a year since last August, but membership now comes with a very useful new feature: automatic phone backups.
Yesterday, Google announced that One membership has been enhanced with the ability to automatically backup all the data contained on your Android phone (no iOS backups I'm afraid). That means the photos, videos, contacts, apps, and messages (text and MMS) stored on your phone will be saved to the cloud so if the worst happens to your handset, the contents it contains remains safe.
Automatic backups for your phone are great, but Google One membership extends to include up to five additional family members. This new feature therefore includes their phones, too, meaning your entire family's mobile data gets automatically backed up through one subscription. The cost isn't changing, so if you already subscribe to One, you'll automatically get this new feature as an option.
Google One costs $1.99 per month of $19.99 per year for 100GB of storage space. 200GB is available for $2.99/$29.99, or for very heavy users it's possible to get 2TB for $9.99/$99.99. Membership includes storage for all the Google services you use (Drive, Gmail, Photos), this new phone backup option, and "one tap away" access to experts at Google if you need help. There's also extra benefits including Google Play credits and special pricing if, for example, you need to book a hotel somewhere.
Turning on and managing phone backups is done through the Google One app. The app also allows you to access and upgrade your storage plan, contact a Google Expert, and access any extra benefits. It also makes transferring the contents of your old Android phone to a new one a very simple task.