PRIVACY · Google Drive backup
How to back up bills to Google Drive on Android
Optional Google Drive bill backup lives under Settings → Export / Import → Cloud Backup. You connect Google when you choose, run a manual Back up now, and Free still keeps a local JSON export on the same screen.
Rent, internet, and installment due dates are easy to lose when you switch phones. In Smart Bill Reminder, optional Google Drive bill backup lives under Settings → Export / Import → Cloud Backup. Backups are manual snapshots, not continuous sync. Connecting Google, Back up now, Restore, and the media checkbox need a paid unlock (Premium path via Plans). Free keeps local JSON export / import on the same screen. In the current app, Cloud Backup may optionally put bill photos and PDFs into a private ZIP on Drive and restore them to app storage when you turn that option on. This is the Drive backup how-to, not the local-first privacy essay, not the bill app without an account checklist, and not a warranty receipt guide.
Where Google Drive bill backup lives
Open Settings, then Export / Import. The Cloud Backup (Google Drive) section sits above the local export and import cards. You will also see the Include photos and PDFs checkbox there. Drive stays off until you connect your Google account. Onboarding may briefly explain optional cloud backup; you still enable it later here. For how the app treats data in legal wording, see the privacy policy.
Free local export vs paid Drive unlock
Free users can export and import a JSON file on the device from the same Export / Import screen. That local file is not Google Drive cloud backup.
Connect Google, Back up now, Restore, and the Include photos and PDFs toggle stay locked until a paid entitlement unlocks Cloud Backup. The UI may show a Premium badge; the paid path is available through Plans. If you only need a file on the phone, stay with local export.
Plans overview Set up Drive backup on Android
Connect Google and run Back up now
With Cloud Backup unlocked, tap Connect with Google Drive and sign in with Google. The app requests Drive app-data access only. Files go into a private app folder on your Google account, not into your whole Drive library.
Then tap Back up now. Confirm the overwrite warning. By default the app uploads smartbill_backup.json with your bills list and selected settings. If Include photos and PDFs is on, it uploads smartbill_backup.zip instead. The previous primary cloud copy is archived into history. You run a backup when you choose; there is no continuous automatic Drive sync in the background.
What the backup includes (and skips)
- Default (toggle off): bill rows and selected app settings as
smartbill_backup.json. Without the toggle, photos and PDFs are not uploaded; attachment paths are cleared so a restore does not keep dead local links. - Opt-in (Include photos and PDFs): a private ZIP (
smartbill_backup.zip) withbackup.jsonplus each bill’s attached photo or PDF (at most one file per bill). On restore, those files are written into app storage with remapped paths. - Not included: warranty records, extra attachments beyond that one bill file, payment or OCR tables, or the entire app. Scope stays app-data only; this is not a backup of your full Google Drive library.
Android Google Drive bill backup here means that JSON or optional ZIP snapshot. For warranty claims and receipt workflows that live outside bill attachments, use the warranty receipt tracker guide.
Restore, history, and disconnect
Restore opens a history picker (current primary plus older snapshots, JSON or ZIP). Confirm the restore warning. Restore replaces the bills on this phone with the chosen cloud copy. ZIP restores also bring attached media back into app storage. It is not a silent one-tap merge.
The app keeps the current primary cloud file and up to 3 older history versions. Disconnect signs you out on the device and clears local Drive meta. Your include-media preference stays. Remote copies in the app folder are not auto-deleted; remove them in Drive or app settings if you want them gone.
Quick answers
Is Google Drive bill backup free?
Free keeps local JSON export and import on the same Export / Import screen. Connecting Google, Back up now, Restore, and the Include photos and PDFs checkbox need a paid unlock (Premium path via Plans).
Do bill photos or PDFs upload to Drive?
Only if you turn on Include photos and PDFs before Back up now. Default Backup now uploads bills and selected settings as JSON only. With the checkbox on, the app packs a private ZIP with each bill’s attached photo or PDF (one file per bill) and restores those files into app storage. Warranties and extra attachments stay out.
Does Drive backup sync automatically?
No. You run Back up now when you choose. Restore asks for confirm and replaces the bills on that phone with the chosen cloud copy.