Back it up, bring it back: No data left behind

About this episode

The episode discusses how developers can improve the backup and restore experience for Android users.

It can be a draw when setting up a new device. Some info transfers, while some don't. Learn how developers can ensure the best user experience when people backup and restore an Android device. Hosts Tor and Chet are joined by Graham and Piyush on the Android Consumer Experience team and Alon on the Android Studio team to discuss Android backup and restore. Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction & the user pain point 1:38 - Why backup fails: Developer challenges 4:00 - Evolution of backup testing: From scripts to Android Studio 7:15 - Beyond testing: Backup for developer workflow 8:50 - Cross-device backup & GMS core integration 10:55 - Understanding backup types: Devices vs. Cloud 14:55 - Data categories & developer control 16:05 - System-level backup: Permissions & credentials 18:35 - Default backup pitfalls & key-value agents 28:15 - Database migrations & backup stress testing 32:04 - Automated testing framework 41:02 - Recap & feedback channels

People in this episode

Hosts: Tor, Chet

Guests: Graham, Piyush, Alon

Topics covered

• Android backup
• data restoration
• user experience
• developer challenges
• cross-device backup
• backup testing
• database migrations

Keywords

• backup
• restore
• Android
• user experience
• developer workflow
• testing
• data categories

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Android Consumer Experience team, Android Studio team

More episodes of Android Developers Backstage

• What's so great about R8? · February 18, 2026 · 1h 7m
• XR: Virtually here · January 14, 2026 · 44 min
• Bring your own model - Android Developers Backstage · December 10, 2025 · 58 min
• From natural language to UI tests: A deep dive into Journeys for Android Studio · October 14, 2025 · 45 min
• Android developer verification · September 30, 2025 · 45 min
• Autofill in Compose · August 13, 2025 · 44 min