Google Enhances Android Backup Controls in Play Services Update, Adds Document Sync to Google Drive Amid Storage Limit Cut
Google is rolling out significant changes to the Android backup system, giving users greater control over what data is stored in the cloud while introducing new capabilities that could rapidly consume storage space on Google Drive.
In the latest update to Google Play Services version 26.25, the company has added a dedicated toggle for messaging backups, allowing users to separately enable or disable the automatic saving of SMS, MMS, and RCS conversations. Previously, these message types were backed up automatically without an easy way to opt out. Notably, RCS messages are now grouped under the MMS category, making the option less obvious to most users.
The backup settings can be found on most devices by navigating to Settings — Accounts and backup — Google Backup — Other device data. This section also includes options for call history and system settings, providing a centralized location for managing non-app data backups.
A more prominent addition is the new document backup feature. Android can now automatically upload files in formats such as DOC, PPT, XLS, PDF, and others to Google Drive, placing them in a folder named after the specific device. Users can also trigger a manual backup at any time. However, this functions as a one-time copy rather than true synchronization, meaning changes made to the original file on the device will not automatically reflect in the cloud version.
These enhancements arrive alongside Google's decision to reduce the free storage allowance from 15 GB to just 5 GB, with all Android backup data now counting toward this limit. While a standard backup typically occupies around 40 MB, including documents can quickly turn it into a much larger archive, potentially leading to storage warnings or the need to purchase additional space.
Overall, the update aims to make backups more flexible and useful for preserving important files, but users are advised to monitor their Google Drive quota carefully to avoid unexpected storage issues.
Related articles
Anthropic Releases Eight Claude Code Updates in August Focused on Multi-Agent Workflows
Between August 13 and 21, Anthropic shipped eight consecutive Claude Code releases from version 2.1.232 to 2.1.239. The updates center on enabling multiple long-running agents that can share context, communicate across sessions, and continue work automatically after hitting usage limits. Key additions include subagent forking that inherits prompt cache and conversation history, cross-session messaging via @mentions, and an automatic mode that uses a classifier model to approve actions. Additional improvements cover GitLab merge request integration, memory management fixes for extended sessions, and support for native add-ons in musl-based Alpine environments. The changes significantly expand the scale of tasks that can be delegated to Claude Code without constant human oversight.
Selectel Revenue Exceeds 10 Billion Rubles as Cloud Services Drive Growth Amid Rising Costs
Selectel reported revenue of 10.2 billion rubles for the first half of 2026, marking a 14 percent increase compared with the same period a year earlier. Cloud infrastructure services remained the primary growth engine, contributing 8.9 billion rubles or 87 percent of total revenue. The customer base expanded by 14,400 clients over twelve months to reach 44,500, with smaller customers fueling much of the increase through new VDS configurations. Professional services showed the fastest consumption growth at 1.4 times, while financial and IT sectors raised infrastructure spending by 1.3 times. Adjusted EBITDA rose only 3 percent to 5.4 billion rubles, lowering its margin from 59 percent to 53 percent, and net profit stayed nearly flat at 1.9 billion rubles with margin declining from 21 percent to 18 percent. Operating expenses jumped 23 percent to 4.7 billion rubles, driven mainly by payroll costs that accounted for 65 percent of the total. The company invested 6.4 billion rubles in development, including 4.4 billion rubles on server equipment, a 1.8-fold increase, while expanding GPU purchases for AI workloads despite higher component prices, resulting in negative free cash flow of 3.4 billion rubles and a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.1.
Russian Backup Market Hits 10.6 Billion Rubles as Domestic Solutions Reach 70% Share
The Russian market for backup solutions grew 18.5% in 2025 to reach 10.6 billion rubles, outpacing the overall infrastructure software segment which expanded 16%. Domestic vendors increased their share from 19% in 2021 to 70% in 2025, with analysts from Strategy Partners forecasting further growth to 92% by 2030 and a market size of 24 billion rubles. Cyberprotect maintains the leading position with its Cyber Backup product, while Astra Group’s RuBackup is noted as another significant offering. The company itself estimates the market at approximately 12 billion rubles and claims a 56% share. Competition is shifting from feature lists toward compatibility with Russian virtualization platforms, databases, Kubernetes environments, storage systems, and monitoring tools. The broader infrastructure software market reached 158 billion rubles in 2025, with Russian developers holding 68% compared to just 8% four years earlier.
Google Issues Clear 2026 Guidance: No Separate SEO for AI Overviews or AI Mode
Google has published dedicated documentation clarifying that optimization for generative search features remains standard SEO. The company stresses that pages must be crawlable, indexable, relevant to user intent, and contain reliable information that the system can extract and synthesize. While classic ranking still applies, generative systems now evaluate pages across multiple stages including retrieval, fact extraction, cross-referencing, and citation decisions. Google explicitly rejects the need for llms.txt files, special AI-oriented Schema markup, or content rewritten specifically for language models. Instead, the focus is on non-commodity content that provides unique data, concrete metrics, and genuine user value. The guidance also warns against scaled content abuse and doorway-style pages created solely to capture long-tail AI-generated queries.