Are you an Android beta tester? Good news: you no longer have to lose your data when opting out

Being a beta tester has its perks, the most obvious of which, of course, is to be one of the first with access to new features. However, it is not all rainbows and sunshine. Partaking in a beta program also means you get to experience all the bugs and issues that come with said new features and incomplete software.At the end of the day, beta testers want to transfer to a stable version of the software at some point. Unfortunately, that could mean losing all of your data since it usually involves wiping your phone — a true statement when it comes to Android, for example, but not for much longer.

Yes, Google will finally make it possible for Android beta testers to be able to opt-out of the beta program and install the stable version without the need to wipe your phone’s data. (via 9to5Google)

Google made a statement saying it “will ensure that all beta devices receive each official stable release to the public so you can opt-out without a data wipe for a limited time until you apply the next beta update.” But wait! There is one important caveat to the whole thing.

To get the stable version without losing your data, you would have to wait for the beta cycle to come to an end. You didn’t think the big G would make it that easy now, did ‘ya? Once the cycle has finished, Google will then offer you the stable OS update and you will get the chance to opt-out safely.

With this information in mind, it might be wise to keep track of the beta cycle going forwards if you don’t already. We would love to hear from you — our readers who are Android beta testers out there — if this change is meaningful to you, or have you already found a good enough workaround and won’t wait for each beta cycle to end?