Back up or restore data on your Android device

You can back up content, data and settings from your phone to your Google Account. You can restore your backed up information to the original phone or to some other Android phones. You can't use back up when you set up a personal device with a work profile or for work only, or when you set up a company-owned device.

Restoring data varies by phone and Android version. You can't restore a backup from a higher Android version onto a phone running a lower Android version.

Where your phone data is stored

Backups are uploaded to Google servers and they're encrypted with your Google Account password. For some data, your phone's screen lock PIN, pattern or password is also used to encrypt your data so it can be backed up safely.

Your backup data (except what you back up to Google Photos) is erased if:

  • You don't use your device for 57 days
  • You turn off Android backup

Back up content

  1. Back up photos and videos. Learn how to automatically upload photos and videos to your Google Photos library.
  2. Back up files and folders. Learn how to back up files to Google Drive.

Automatically back up your phone

Important:To help protect your backed-up data, use a PIN, pattern or password screen lock, instead of a swipe or Smart Lock.

You can set up your phone to automatically back up your files.

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Select Google And then Backup.
    Optional: If this is your first time, turn on Backup by Google One and follow the on-screen instructions.
  3. Tap Back up now.

Your Google One backup can take up to 24 hours. When your data is saved, 'On' will be below the data types that you selected.

Add or switch backup accounts

Add a backup account

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.

  2. Tap SystemAnd thenBackup. If these steps don't match your phone's settings, try searching your Settings app for backup, or get help from your device manufacturer.

  3. Tap Backup account And thenAdd account.
  4. If needed, enter your phone's PIN, pattern or password.
  5. Sign in to the account that you want to add.

Switch between backup accounts

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap SystemAnd thenBackup.If these steps don't match your phone's settings, try searching your Settings app for backup, or get help from your device manufacturer.
  3. Tap Backup account.
  4. Tap the account that you want to use for backups.

What gets backed up

Backup by Google One automatically saves data from your phone. Data saved with Backup by Google One includes:

  • App data
  • Call history
  • Contacts
  • Settings
  • SMS messages
  • Pictures and videos
  • MMS messages

Tip: You can automatically back up your photos and videos to your Google Photos library. Learn how to back up your photos.

Manually back up data and settings

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Google And thenBackup.
    If these steps don't match your phone's settings, try searching your Settings app for backup or get help from your device manufacturer.
  3. Tap Back up now.

Erase after backing up

Get your data onto a new phone

When you add your Google Account to a phone that's been set up, what you'd previously backed up for that Google Account gets put onto the phone.

To restore a backed-up account to a reset phone, follow the on-screen steps. For more help, get help from your device manufacturer.

Your photos and videos are already available in Google Photos. But you can restore the rest of the data that you backed up while you set up your new phone for the first time or after a factory reset. At setup, to restore your data, follow the on-screen steps.

The process can take up to 24 hours.

Important: You can't restore a backup from a higher Android version onto a phone running a lower Android version. Learn how to check and update your Android version.

See what photos, data and settings you backed up

 You can check what data and which apps are included in your backup.

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Google And thenBackup.
  3. Under 'Backup details', review what data is backed up on your device.

Restore backed-up contacts

If you've saved your contacts to your Google Account, they'll sync automatically. If you have other contacts on a phone or SIM card, learn how to manually restore contacts.

How backup handles your data

Important: The data that backup collects is encrypted in transit.

Backup sends your data to Google's backup servers and helps you to transfer data between devices. Backup collects certain information to perform services on your device. Some of this functionality uses Google Play services. For example, backup collects:

  • Messages, contacts, app settings and preferences are collected as part of your personal backup.
  • Personal identifiers are collected to ensure that your backups are associated with you and your account.
  • Crash logs and diagnostics are collected for analytics and troubleshooting purposes.

Turn backup off

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