Yandex Disk has completed another phase of service restoration: the platform has resumed automatic photo and video uploads from smartphones. Users who over the past few weeks were forced to manually select each file for transfer to the cloud can now return to their usual workflow — photos and videos will be added to storage without requiring additional action from the device owner. According to ixbt.com, the update marks one of the final stages of service restoration following damage to Yandex's infrastructure.
How to Set Up Auto-Upload and What Happens to Data Traffic
To activate the feature, users must open the Yandex Disk mobile application, navigate to the «Auto-upload» section, and check the relevant settings. Users can choose the channel for file transfer: via mobile data or exclusively when connected to Wi-Fi. The latter option is particularly relevant for those who want to avoid consuming mobile data on background synchronization. Under Yandex 360 subscriptions featuring unlimited auto-upload, uploaded photos and videos do not consume the main cloud storage space, making the feature virtually unlimited in volume for subscribers.
Video Streaming: Videos Play Directly in the Cloud Again
In parallel with auto-upload, video streaming has also become available again on Yandex Disk. Users can now play videos directly within cloud storage without downloading them entirely to a smartphone or computer. This significantly saves local device space and the time required to download a large video file. The feature was unavailable throughout the entire infrastructure outage period, forcing users to either wait for a full download or abandon watching altogether.
What Else Is Being Restored: User Data
Despite the return of key user features, work on restoring the actual data continues. This refers to documents, photos, audio recordings, videos, and other files that may have been affected as a result of infrastructure damage. Yandex has not disclosed exact timelines for completing this process, but the very fact that auto-upload and streaming are already operational indicates that the basic service platform has been brought into a working state. Remaining tasks are related to restoring the integrity of user content, which typically takes significantly longer than restarting service modules.
Context: What Happened to Yandex's Infrastructure
The damage to Yandex's infrastructure mentioned in ixbt.com reports led to the partial unavailability of several company services, including Yandex Disk. During the outage, users lost access to automatic synchronization, streaming, and, in some cases, the files themselves. Restoration proceeded in stages: first, basic storage access functions were returned, followed by file uploading and downloading, and only at the final stage did auto-upload and video streaming return. The current situation, as of November 11, 2026, is characterized as the «final stage» of restoration, although final verification of user data integrity is not yet complete.
