Backing up your data is easily one of the most important thing you can do if you’re looking to avoid a smartphone accident causing you a lot of heartache, but backups aren’t always created equally. It’s easy to see why someone might assume that enabling Android backup would allow them to restore a 1:1 copy of their entire phone, but Google’s tools don’t treat all data the same.
Right now, Google’s backup offers two main options: photos & videos, and other device data. The former is straightforward enough, and protects all your Google Photos content. The latter, though, can be a little confusing, and covers everything from device settings to text message history to app data.
