If you don't like to follow news about your favorite chat app - WhatsApp - then you will find yourself in a shock in a few weeks from now. But don't worry, you still have a lot of time left for course correction. Before November 12, WhatsApp users will have to update backups that they have ignored in a year, or risk losing them permanently. In a recent mail to users, Google Drive told users: "WhatsApp backups will no longer count against Google Drive storage quota. However, any WhatsApp backups that have not been updated in more than a year will automatically be removed from storage."

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Some users maye be able to see the new quota benefits before November 12. Google Drive has asked users to manually back up WhatsApp before November 12, 2018. What can potentially turn out to be controversial, the back-ups on Google Drive will not have end-to-end encryption, making them vulnerable to hackers.  WhatsApp has been maintaining an archive of all data shared by Android users on Google Drive cloud storage system. But the chat app has revealed that the personal data of users stored on Google Drive are not end-to-end encrypted. 

"Media and messages you back up aren't protected by WhatsApp end-to-end encryption while in Google Drive," WhatsApp says on its official website. The acceptance has raised fears of hackers, police and even spies easily getting access to a user's private data if they manage to break into their Google Drive account. 

What's the cure? 

A user can opt for not storing the data on Google Drive. Moreover, a user can also delete personal data from the drive. Follow these steps:

- Go to the Google Drive website and log in to your Google account.
- If you're accessing the Google Drive website from your phone, you'll have to tap the Menu icon in the top left corner and then tap Desktop Version.
- Click the Gear icon in the top right corner > Settings > Manage Apps.
- Scroll until you find WhatsApp in the list. Please note it might take several minutes for WhatsApp to appear.
- After you find WhatsApp in the list, wait until “Hidden app data” size comes up. This might also take several minutes.
- Click OPTIONS > Delete hidden app data > DELETE.