- February 2026 update adds local files again for Android, using Google Drive
- It’s not clear if this is a one-way backup or a live sync.
- iPhones can now sync download files with iCloud Drive
Google has confirmed that it is adding local file backup to Google Drive with its latest February update (Google Play Services v26.06, 2026-02-16), which means your Downloads folder will now sync with Google Drive and be available to access from other devices.
This is in addition to the existing Google Drive backup service on Android, which covers system items like apps, calls and settings, to preserve your phone’s essentials when switching devices or restoring after a factory reset.
At the moment, it’s unclear how the feature might work and whether Google Drive will open a new Downloads folder that will sync across devices, or whether locally downloaded files will only be backed up in an emergency.
Google Drive will backup your local Android downloads
“With the new local file backup feature, you can automatically save your downloaded documents to Google Drive, ensuring they’re safe and accessible from any of your devices,” reads Google’s release notes.
Most importantly, this is an Android update, so it’s not available for iOS fans who have installed the Google Drive app. However, iPhone users can now download files directly to iCloud Drive, and those files will be available anywhere users can access iCloud Drive.
It would make sense for Google’s local file backup to work like this, rather than like device backups that don’t offer live sync.
Although the actual feature is not available yet, the underlying update can be downloaded from System Services in Settings. It should be available once Google activates it on the server side.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
