A personal game library contains more than public game metadata. Your statuses, notes, progress and recorded sessions are the details that make it useful to you. An encrypted backup helps protect that work when you change devices or need to recover local data.
ArkPixels provides manual Google Drive backup and restore from Settings. Manual Drive operations are available in Free. Eligible paid plans add automatic backup as a separate convenience.
Understand what the backup protects
The backup includes the local database, local media and profile-specific Hub and Explore personalisation. It protects the information recorded in the catalogue on that device.
Game save files managed by a console, PC game or another service are outside this catalogue backup. Continue using the relevant platform's save protection for in-game progress. A catalogue status such as Completed also does not replace the original game's save file.
ArkPixels stores its Drive data in the app-private area associated with the selected Google account. You may not see a normal backup file in your main Drive folder. Use the app's backup, restore and deletion controls to manage that data.
Choose and preserve a passphrase
The backup is encrypted using a passphrase of at least twelve characters. Choose a long passphrase you can preserve securely, for example in your password manager. Keep it separate from the device you may need to replace.
ArkPixels cannot recover a forgotten passphrase. Access to the Google account alone does not decrypt the backup. Before relying on a backup, confirm that you know both the selected account and the exact passphrase you used.
When automatic backup is enabled, the app protects the passphrase using Android Keystore on the device. You should still keep your own recoverable copy for a future restore.
Create a manual backup
Open Settings and find the Google Drive backup controls. Choose the Google account intended for this backup, authorise the requested access and select the manual backup action. Enter the passphrase when requested.
Wait for the operation to finish and check the app's result. Starting an operation is not the same as completing an upload. If the app reports a connection, account or backup error, resolve it and repeat the operation before considering the library protected.
Record the date of the successful backup and the account used. You can keep that record outside the app together with a recovery checklist, without putting the passphrase in ordinary library notes.
Verify recovery with demonstration data
Test recovery on a spare Android device or a disposable demonstration installation before doing anything destructive to your main catalogue. A restore can replace local state, so preserve the current contents of the test installation if they matter to you.
Create a small demonstration library containing a physical copy, a digital copy, different statuses, a note and a completed local session. Back it up, then open the restore flow on the test installation with the same Google account and passphrase.
After a successful restore, inspect more than the total game count:
- Open the demonstration copies and verify their platforms and ownership details.
- Check the status, progress and note you deliberately recorded.
- Confirm the completed session and its effective duration.
- Review any local media and personalisation included in the test.
Keep the working installation and backup until those checks pass. A practical recovery test is stronger evidence than an upload confirmation alone.
Know when automatic backup can run
Plus, Pro and Family support automatic Drive backup with daily, weekly or roughly thirty-day scheduling. The work requires an unmetered network and sufficient battery, and Android background execution can affect the actual run time.
Choose a schedule that matches how often your catalogue changes. Before replacing a phone or making a major change, a fresh manual backup gives you a result you can check immediately. Manual access remains available if an eligible paid plan ends.
Automatic backup is not a live multi-device editing workflow. If you use more than one device, decide which catalogue you intend to preserve and review backup and restore deliberately.
Handle errors and deletion carefully
For a restore failure, confirm the Google account, connectivity and passphrase first. Follow the error shown by the app and keep the existing backup while you investigate. Do not repeatedly overwrite a known backup with an empty or incomplete library.
Deleting Drive backup data is a separate operation from deleting ordinary game entries or managing an ArkPixels account. Review the action you selected before confirming it, and keep another verified recovery path if you still need the catalogue.
Once you have tested restoration, make backup part of a light maintenance routine. Our collection organisation guide and physical/digital guide can help you decide which ownership details to check after recovery.