• By Alex David
  • Mon, 18 Aug 2025 12:48 AM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Android Authority conducted an APK teardown of Google Play Services (v26.32.31 beta), which indicates Google is poised to expand Android's backup options and allow users to back up additional folders - such as the Downloads folder.

The Current Backup Limitations

Right now, Android’s automatic backup system saves photos, videos, app data, settings, and some user information to the cloud. However, not everything makes it through:

  • Certain app data remains encrypted and can’t be backed up.
  • Common folders like Downloads are excluded.

This means many important files — PDFs, ZIPs, and manually saved documents — don’t get synced automatically.

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What the Teardown Reveals

The beta source code strings hint at two potential features:

  • Backup support for the Downloads folder.
  • A new category called “documents”, possibly allowing backups of specific file types instead of entire folders.

If this were true, Android users could gain much greater control over what data is kept online for backup storage purposes - typically, Google Drive would serve this function.

What This Means for Users

Google has not officially confirmed this update; however, the teardown indicates it may already be underway. Should it become fully implemented and deployed to users' phones, this feature would close one of Android's biggest backup gaps and help ensure you never lose important files during phone switches, resets or upgrades.

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Now, however, we must await when Google makes their new backup flexibility official.

Summing it up

An APK teardown of Google Play Services (v26.32.31 beta) suggests Google is preparing to expand Android’s backup options to include the Downloads folder and a new “documents” category for specific file types. Currently, Android's automatic backup system excludes common folders like Downloads and certain encrypted app data. This update would offer users greater control over backed-up content, stored in Google Drive, addressing a significant backup gap for important files during phone changes. While not officially confirmed, the feature appears to be in development.