diff --git a/pkg/restic/common.go b/pkg/restic/common.go
index 80ed99935b..9d55afbc1d 100644
--- a/pkg/restic/common.go
+++ b/pkg/restic/common.go
@@ -39,13 +39,17 @@ const (
 	InitContainer               = "restic-wait"
 	DefaultMaintenanceFrequency = 24 * time.Hour
 
-	podAnnotationPrefix       = "snapshot.velero.io/"
+	// Deprecated.
+	podAnnotationPrefix = "snapshot.velero.io/"
+
 	volumesToBackupAnnotation = "backup.velero.io/backup-volumes"
 )
 
 // PodHasSnapshotAnnotation returns true if the object has an annotation
 // indicating that there is a restic snapshot for a volume in this pod,
 // or false otherwise.
+// Deprecated: we will stop using pod annotation to determine restic
+// volumes to backup.
 func PodHasSnapshotAnnotation(obj metav1.Object) bool {
 	for key := range obj.GetAnnotations() {
 		if strings.HasPrefix(key, podAnnotationPrefix) {
@@ -58,6 +62,8 @@ func PodHasSnapshotAnnotation(obj metav1.Object) bool {
 
 // GetPodSnapshotAnnotations returns a map, of volume name -> snapshot id,
 // of all restic snapshots for this pod.
+// Deprecated: we will stop using pod annotation to determine restic
+// volumes to backup.
 func GetPodSnapshotAnnotations(obj metav1.Object) map[string]string {
 	var res map[string]string
 
@@ -79,6 +85,8 @@ func GetPodSnapshotAnnotations(obj metav1.Object) map[string]string {
 
 // SetPodSnapshotAnnotation adds an annotation to a pod to indicate that
 // the specified volume has a restic snapshot with the provided id.
+// Deprecated: we will stop using pod annotation to determine restic
+// volumes to backup.
 func SetPodSnapshotAnnotation(obj metav1.Object, volumeName, snapshotID string) {
 	annotations := obj.GetAnnotations()
 
diff --git a/site/docs/master/restic.md b/site/docs/master/restic.md
index ed82ef3cf3..4f6e951d4f 100644
--- a/site/docs/master/restic.md
+++ b/site/docs/master/restic.md
@@ -283,14 +283,12 @@ should be taken (`backup.velero.io/backup-volumes`)
     - finds the pod volume's subdirectory within the above volume
     - runs `restic backup`
     - updates the status of the custom resource to `Completed` or `Failed`
-1. As each `PodVolumeBackup` finishes, the main Velero process captures its restic snapshot ID and adds it as an annotation
-to the copy of the pod JSON that's stored in the Velero backup. This will be used for restores, as seen in the next section.
+1. As each `PodVolumeBackup` finishes, the main Velero process adds it to the Velero backup in a file named `<backup-name>-podvolumebackups.json.gz`. This file gets uploaded to object storage alongside the backup tarball. It will be used for restores, as seen in the next section.
 
 ### Restore
 
-1. The main Velero restore process checks each pod that it's restoring for annotations specifying a restic backup
-exists for a volume in the pod (`snapshot.velero.io/<volume-name>`)
-1. When found, Velero first ensures a restic repository exists for the pod's namespace, by:
+1. The main Velero restore process checks each pod that it's restoring from a previously created restic backup by iterating through the contents of the `<backup-name>-podvolumebackups.json.gz` file.
+1. For each pod found, Velero first ensures a restic repository exists for the pod's namespace, by:
     - checking if a `ResticRepository` custom resource already exists
     - if not, creating a new one, and waiting for the `ResticRepository` controller to init/check it (note that
     in this case, the actual repository should already exist in object storage, so the Velero controller will simply
@@ -319,4 +317,4 @@ on to running other init containers/the main containers.
 [3]: https://github.com/heptio/velero/releases/
 [4]: https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/storage/volumes/#local
 [5]: http://restic.readthedocs.io/en/latest/100_references.html#terminology
-[6]: https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/storage/volumes/#mount-propagation
+[6]: https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/storage/volumes/#mount-propagation
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