Android Data Restore Tool Now on the Play Store After Overhaul

If you’re an advent Android user, you have no doubt used the Data Restore Tool before. This tool comes pre-installed with most new Android phones. It’s a very convenient app for migrating data and files from an old Android phone to a new one.

Google is now bringing the app to the Play Store in a somewhat confusing move. The data recovery app was released on the Play Store somewhere between 19 and 22 July. Despite already being pre-installed on most Android devices, it’s already been downloaded over a billion times. And after looking at the reviews, it’s clear that we aren’t the only ones confused by its appearance on the Play Store.

Aside from its release so soon after Google announced a new simplified backup system, there are a few other issues that make us question why this app was released. Before we go into why this release is so confusing, let’s just get things straight. This is not the same data transfer tool that was released in 2017, which was more specific to Pixel devices. Nor is it the older one that was replaced by the 2017 release. This is the same app that’s pre-installed on most new Android devices, except Pixel, as they have their stand-alone version.

What’s confusing is that since the app is already installed on many devices except Pixel, what could be the reasoning for releasing it on the Play Store? Also, considering that during testing, the app couldn’t be installed on Android 11 Pixel and many other devices with older Android versions, what use does it have for being in the Play Store?

We know that the app contains some Material You features to be used in the setup process. However, when testing the app on non-Material You devices, there was no notable difference in how the app looks or runs. So we’ll have to wait for the Android 12 official release to confirm whether the Material You features make a big difference.

Closing Words

We strongly suspect that it was no coincidence that the Android Data Restore app was released on the Play Store so shortly after the announcement of the simplified backup system. In fact, we would not be surprised if they were tied to the upcoming changes and Google is prepping the Play Store listing for a more marketable presentation of the new features coming with the backup system.

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