Helium Chrome app enables backups from any OS, even without root

Rooted Android users have the luxury of apps like Titanium Backup to keep their data safe and portable if the worst happens, or if they just fancy switching devices. Non-root users are not so lucky. Koushik Dutta, the developer behind the popular AllCast app, amongst others, aims to solve this problem with his Helium Backup Chrome app.

Helium backup isn’t strictly new, work on his Carbon app began a while ago, but the previous method of using it without root required installing a separate Windows or Mac desktop application to do the work for you. Now you can backup your app data, saved games, etc, through the convenience of your web browser, Chromebook, or Linux machine.

Helium works in conjunction with a companion app on your smartphone to enable ADB backups over a USB cable. This method is available to those who want to download and mess around with ADB manually, Helium just provides a friendlier interface with which to accomplish the same thing.

Here is a link to the Chrome app and PlayStore app, where you will find the instructions needed to get you up and running.

With Android Lollipop updates rolling out this week, now might be a good time to consider a data backup. Just in case.