If you’re about to factory reset an Android device you haven’t used in a while, you might want to make sure it has been backed up recently. Following a grace period, Google will automatically delete cloud-saved settings, apps, and preferences from Android devices that haven’t been used for more than two weeks.
The policy, which isn’t new, generated headlines last week when a good Samaritan posted a public service announcement in Reddit’s Android community. Android device users are entitled to free backups “as long as [they] use [their] device[s],” according to the language on Google’s support website. When a device goes unused for two weeks, a two-month countdown begins. When it has elapsed, Google reserves the right to wipe those files permanently.
You’ll get plenty of warning beforehand. After the first two weeks of inactivity come to a close, a countdown timer appears below the backup files, showing how much time remains before they’re deleted. If you start using the backed-up device again before the timer reaches zero, it’ll reset. But if you don’t, your backup — and all the settings, data, and apps with it — will be deleted.
Once your backup’s gone, there’s no getting it back. Google says that deleted device backups can’t be recovered. Backups include data like contacts, Google Calendar settings, Wi-Fi networks and passwords, home screen wallpapers, Gmail settings, apps installed through Google Play, display settings, language and input settings, and the date and time settings.
“There was no warning from Google,” Reddit user Tanglebrook recounted. “[There] was no notification, no email, no proactive notice at all, and most importantly, no option to use the 100GB of my Drive storage to keep my […] backup.”
But it’s not necessarily as bad as it sounds. Google’s Drive backup service only works on Android devices running 6.0 Marshmallow or newer, so older smartphones and tablets can’t (and never could) take advantage. There’s less risk of losing third-party data than data from Google’s own apps and services — developers have to opt into Drive backups manually. And Google’s backup policy doesn’t apply to pictures stored on Google Photos or WhatsApp messages uploaded to Google Drive — Google treats that data differently.
Still, it’s not a bad idea to check the status of your device backups that haven’t been updated in a while. You can do that by opening the Google Drive app for Android or iOS, tapping the Menu button, and then tapping Backups. If any backups are at risk of expiring, you’ll see a red-colored line of text under them with the words, “Expires in […] days.”
Not long ago, Apple treated independent repair like an act of outright hostility. The Cupertino giant locked down parts with serial-number pairing, while repair tools remained firmly out of reach of anyone outside its authorized repair network. More importantly, the company waged a legal and lobbying battle against right-to-repair legislation.
I've covered enough of these fights over the years to know what a shift looks like. That's why what happened in October 2026 genuinely caught me off guard. The day the iPhone Duo went on sale, what may be the most mechanically complex iPhone to date, Apple pulled off a surprising about-face. It published teardown-style repair manuals for a handful of major components.
Apple's first foldable phone is now on shelves, in short supply, but with an unreal amount of buzz around it. After all, it's the first foldable iPhone, and there's plenty that this phone gets right. But there's also a lot that is either broken or underwhelming. What's peculiar is the dialogue around this phone, and how it has completely overshadowed every other attempt at making a phone with a similar form factor.
I've spent some time with the iPhone Duo, and I've used the Galaxy Z Fold 8 for almost three months now. In my opinion, Samsung deserves more credit. When the Galaxy Z Fold 8 arrived earlier this year, it was celebrated in some circles and ridiculed in others for supposedly copying what Apple would eventually deliver with the iPhone Duo. The dialogue was pretty odd, for multiple reasons. Samsung has been making foldable phones for years, so claiming that it copied a product Apple hadn't even launched was simply absurd.
For years, Samsung’s Galaxy A phones have been some of the easiest recommendations for anyone who wants to go the Android route without paying flagship prices. But that part of the lineup could soon become harder to find at a good price.
According to South Korea’s Electronic Times, Samsung is cutting Galaxy A production by about 20% in the fourth quarter compared to its original plans. Component orders have reportedly dropped by a similar amount, which could mean roughly 10 million fewer phones over the year. Samsung is also said to be considering another production cut of more than 10% next year.