The app always makes a local copy of each backup, even when it is set to back up only to a cloud account. This means a backup is still available if the upload fails. More info at Why is the app creating local backups even when its set to only create cloud backups?

If uploads to your cloud account keep failing (because of an expired sign-in, a full cloud account or no network connection, for example), the local copies stay on the phone while they wait to be uploaded. Over time these pending backups, along with older local backups, can build up and use a lot of storage.

To fix this, the app now has an Automatic cleanup feature. You can find it at Menu > Settings > Backup location > Automatic cleanup. On this screen you can choose, for each backup location, how older backups are deleted:

• Keep backups for a number of days: deletes backups older than the number of days you choose.
• Keep a number of recent backups: keeps only the most recent backups, up to the number you choose.
• Delete backups not yet uploaded: also deletes local backups that are still waiting to be uploaded to the cloud. Previously these were kept until they reached the cloud, so a failing upload could leave them on the phone indefinitely. Note: if you turn this on and the upload keeps failing, a backup can be deleted before it is ever uploaded, and you will have no copy of it anywhere. Please check that your cloud uploads are working before relying on this option.

Any backups outside the limits you set will be deleted the next time a backup runs. This cannot be undone.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

• Incremental backups: the age and count settings don’t apply to these, because deleting older incremental backups would break a restore. Use the Delete backups before the last full backup option instead.
• Archive Mode: Automatic cleanup never deletes Archive Mode backups, because the archive holds all of your backed-up messages in one file.

Deleting backups manually

You can also view and delete backups yourself at any time from Menu > Delete Backups. Select the backups you no longer need and delete them to free up space straight away.

For more ways to reduce the storage the app uses, see How to reduce the amount of storage used by backups.