The obsession with WhatsApp is common among every generation. It is our go-to app of the day, and its high privacy features give us added assurance for the safety of our years of messages. But how will you retrieve those precious chats if one day you end up accidentally deleting the app or losing your phone? If you often ponder the same question, then this post is for you because here we will discuss how to backup and restore WhatsApp chats on any device.
If you didn’t know, backing up WhatsApp chats is the added measure users take to prevent them from losing the data forever. Since there are several ways to perform backup and restore chats, we have mentioned the steps to accomplish the task using Google Drive, internal storage, and iCloud. So keep on reading.
How to Use Google Drive to Backup and Restore WhatsApp Chats
Follow the steps given below to backup and restore chats from Google Drive:
- Open your WhatsApp app and tap on the menu (three-dot icon) button.
- Select Settings, and then go to chats.
- Scroll down to click on Chat backup.
- On the next screen, tap on backup to Google Drive.
- Next, select your preferred backup frequency, i.e., whether you’d like the app to perform a backup once every day, every week, or every month.
- Then, choose your Google account to store the WhatsApp backup On. If you do not have that particular account linked to your device, click on add account and enter its login details.
- Lastly, select the preferred network (WiFi or cellular data) using which the backup will perform automatically.
Note: Keep in mind that if you select a cellular network to backup WhatsApp chats, it may attract additional data charges, therefore it is recommended to enable backup only when you have access to WiFi.
The WhatsApp chats will automatically back up in the background at whatever rate you select. Using Google Drive to backup and restore chats is an effective and popular method to save your data. Also, it presents many perks, like giving you easy access to data in case of phone loss or damage.
You can easily restore WhatsApp chats by logging in to your Google account from another device and clicking restore backup. Only ensure you have a stable internet connection and enough free space available on your device to download the backup and restore the chats.
How to Restore from Google Drive
Now, to download the backup and restore WhatsApp chats from Google Drive, these are the steps you need to follow:
- If you are using a new device, first link the Google account. Remember to use the same email where you stored your WhatsApp backup earlier.
- Next, install WhatsApp and log in with your phone number.
- The app will ask you to perform a backup click on it, and it will automatically restore the chats from your Google account.
- Once the process is complete, all your previous chats will display as they were. Restoring of the media and files will continue to happen in the background.
How To Backup and Restore Chats Using Android Internal Storage
Although backing up your WhatsApp chats to Google Drive is generally considered a safe (and rather preferred) choice among users, there is one significant downside to it, i.e., the data is no longer encrypted.
Thus, if you want to keep your WhatsApp chats backed up and secured, saving it to your phone’s internal storage is your best option. Here is how to do it:
- Open your WhatsApp account and go to the Settings.
- Then select chats> chats backup> Chat backup to Google Drive.
- Select Never from the options to stop your backup from storing on Google Drive.
- Then, manually tap on the green highlighted backup button to save it in your phone’s internal storage, except this data will remain encrypted and thus safe from getting invaded.
If you follow the instructions above, your WhatsApp chat storage will be stored in your local files only. However, if your device has an SD Card inserted, the backup chats may get stored there.
Note: You must know the drawback of using internal storage to backup and restore chats, which is chats are only stored on your device( like images in your gallery) and not on your online account. Thus, if you log in using the account on a different phone, you won’t be able to access the chats there, and although it keeps the chats secure, if you lose or break your phone, remember that your backup will be inaccessible.
Thus, consider the pros and cons of both methods (Google Drive and internal storage) and perform the method best suited to your needs.
How to Restore WhatsApp Chats From Internal Storage
Once your WhatsApp chats are backed up on your Android device, you can restore them with these simple steps:
- Open the file manager app.
- Then go to WhatsApp.
- Next, go to Databases. Check here if your data is stored in your internal storage or SD card memory. If it is the latter then move the backup to the internal storage.
- Launch your WhatsApp app and log in.
- Then hit restore chats data when prompted from local backup. You will need to wait for a few minutes before the app completes restoring.
How To Enable End-to-end Encrypted Backup?
As mentioned earlier, backup chats on Google Drive don’t provide complete encryption as backup on internal storage does, whereas the latter doesn’t give you access to your chats from any device such as Google Drive. But what if you could enable end-to-end encryption backup to Google Drive and enjoy the best of both features?
WhatsApp has a feature to enable backup with end-to-end encryption by securing it with a 64-digit key or password. This means the app will require you to input the set password to download the backup and restore chats. Remember, you mustn’t lose or share this key or password because if the password is forgotten or changed, you’ll be unable to reset it and lose your end-to-end encrypted data forever.
Here’s how to set up end-to-end encryption:
- Launch WhatsApp, then go to settings> chats> chats backup.
- Under chats backup, go to end-to-end encrypted backup.
- Then click on the turn on button. Image
- On the next screen, you can create a password or a 64-digit key to secure the files. Insert whichever one you choose.
- Next, tap on Create and wait for the end-to-end encrypted backup to be processed.
Later, if you decide to turn off the password protection on backup. You can retrace the above steps and tap Turn Off in end-to-end encrypted backup by verifying the password.
Now, it doesn’t matter if you save your backup using internal storage or Google Drive, it will remain end-to-end encrypted in either case and will only be restored by the same password or key.
Also Check: How to Use WhatsApp End-to-End Encryption
How To Restore WhatsApp Backup To iPhone
Unfortunately, it is not as simple to back up and restore WhatsApp chats on iPhone as on Android. However, there are still some things that you can do to accomplish the task on iOS.
Here is how to restore your WhatsApp data on your iPhone:
- First, launch the WhatsApp app and go to settings>chats>chat backup.
- Then check to see if you have a backup stored on your iCloud, if it isn’t, click on it to perform the backup.
You must have the same Apple ID signed in on your device, and ensure that your iCloud is turned on.
Also, you must have ample free space on your iPhone and iCloud drive before you back up and restore the chats, approximately twice the size of your WhatsApp data.
If you meet the above stipulations, you can easily restore the chat backup on your WhatsApp using an iPhone. From here the process is relatively similar for iPhone and Android devices. Just download the app and log in. Click on backup when prompted.
More WhatsApp Related Posts:
- Chat Lock – How to Lock Chats on WhatsApp
- How to Remove Chat Lock from Chats on WhatsApp
- How to Enable & Send Disappearing Messages on WhatsApp
Conclusion
Considering how much time we spend texting on WhatsApp, it is only natural that we secure the chats and media shared on the app for future access. Backup and restore chats are the best way to attain insurance so that even if you switch phones, your data can be attained.
