Where is WhatsApp Backup Stored on Android and iPhone
Do you know where does WhatsApp backup stores are on Android, iPhone, iCloud, and Google Drive?
Your WhatsApp chats back up, but finding the WhatsApp backup location can be challenging isn’t.
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WhatsApp is close to oxygen for hundreds of millions worldwide for their personal and commercial comms.
Because WhatsApp stores your valuable chats, images, and videos, keeping that data safe and knowing you can recover it securely from a backup is essential.
A backup is useless unless restored, so you need to know where your WhatsApp backup is stored.
Where is WhatsApp Backup Stored on Your Device?
Does WhatsApp save messages? Yes! WhatsApp lets you store backups on Google Drive. You may back up your data every day, week, month or manually. Nevertheless, whatever backup you create on the same Google account will erase the previous one, so you cannot store several versions or restore the older ones anymore.
Google Drive will permanently delete all your data after five months if you do not do a backup regularly.
If you want to know where to find WhatsApp backup? WhatsApp also creates local backups daily on your phone or SD card. If you cannot restore a Drive backup or do not have one, your device will scan for the local versions.
Some third-party software may claim to decrypt WhatsApp backups, but you should avoid using any of them. Such programs might not work well and might even contain harmful malware which can compromise or steal your data. Be sure to enable end-to-end encryption when using third-party software to encrypt your information.
Why is it Important to Back Up Your WhatsApp Messages?
Taking safety precautions with your data is vital. One essential measure is making copies of your information, ensuring you can access it in emergencies. WhatsApp offers a convenient backup feature, which proves invaluable for data retrieval.
For instance, if your device gets stolen or lost, with the help of WhatsApp backup, you can get every message you need on another device.
If your WhatsApp backup stalls or fails, try our top 5 tips on how to fix a WhatsApp backup issue
How To Find WhatsApp Backup On Google Drive
Backing up your WhatsApp chats to Google Drive ensures you are covered; it’s that simple. Here are the steps to follow:
- Ensure you are in the Google Account you used for the backup when installing on your phone. You can check this via the Path to Google at your device Settings > Accounts > Google.
- Install WhatsApp from the Play Store and check your phone number. You should get a suggestion from Google Drive to help recover your chats. Go ahead and tap Free, waiting for the installation to finish.
- If you do not see the prompt, you can manually restore from WhatsApp > Menu > Settings > Chats > Chat backup.
Note: Tap “Restore” and choose a backup file from Google Drive.
Once you complete the restoration, you can access your chats and media on WhatsApp. You may need to download some media files separately by tapping on them.
Note: You can only perform backups from Google Drive if you have the same phone number and Google account as the backup. You cannot restore your backups from an alternative operating system platform, iOS or Windows Phone.
Check out this article to learn how to restore WhatsApp messages without backup.
How to Backup WhatsApp Messages on Local Storage
You need to back up your WhatsApp messages to keep them safe. Here’s how you can safely do it:
1. Open WhatsApp on your device
2. Tap on the three vertical dots and tap on settings.
3. Tap on Chats
4. Tap on Chat backup
5. Tap on Backup to Google Drive, and
6. Tap on Never when the options pop
7. Now tap the green Backup button, which will immediately back up your messages to your phone’s storage.
You can backup local WhatsApp copies on your device using the above method.
Where is WhatsApp Backup Stored on Android?
On Android, you can store your WhatsApp backup in Google Drive and local storage. Google Drive is a cloud backup platform, while local storage is your phone storage or SD card.
Here’s how to find backed-up WhatsApp messages on your Android phone.
How to Find WhatsApp Messages on Local Storage in Your Android Phone
WhatsApp stores messages and information in a particular folder in your phone’s internal storage or sometimes on your SD card.
1. Open your File Manager app on your device
2. Tap on Internal storage
3. Tap on the Android folder
4. Tap on the Media
5. Tap on Database
6. Tap on the the WhatsApp folder.
7. These are the encrypted backup files available on your device. You check them by backup with the date.
Where is WhatsApp Backup Stored on an iPhone?
iCloud is the most favourable method for backing up messages on iPhones. It is straightforward to use, and your messages are very safe.
By default, iPhones utilize iCloud as the primary cloud platform for WhatsApp backups. For added security, iCloud stores your messages as encrypted files in a concealed folder.
To enable iCloud backup for WhatsApp:
- Open the Settings app and tap on your Apple ID (located at the top of the screen).
- Select iCloud and toggle it ON. Then, enable the WhatsApp option.
- Open the WhatsApp app on your iPhone.
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Backup Now.
The above settings allow you to back up the WhatsApp messages manually and just once. Alternatively, you can choose the backup frequency from the provided options, ensuring your backup happens automatically.
How to Find Your WhatsApp Backup on iCloud
WhatsApp automatically stores its data on the iPhone’s iCloud. You can ensure the safety of your WhatsApp data on the iCloud server by following these steps:
- Access the Settings app on your iPhone and tap on your Apple ID at the top.
- Select iCloud and ensure iCloud Drive is enabled. If not, toggle it ON and wait for synchronization to complete.
- Scroll down and tap on Manage Storage. You will see a list of apps that use iCloud storage.
- Go to WhatsApp and tap to see the size of your last backup and the date you did it.
- To delete or restore the backup, click on Delete or Restore.
Note: You cannot see your WhatsApp backup contents directly on iCloud. You should then recover it to your iPhone or another device with WhatsApp installed and log in using the same telephone number.
Conclusion
This article explained how to find your WhatsApp backup on a local device and where does WhatsApp store data.
You also learned the importance of having the backup. Android users can where are WhatsApp backups stored store their WhatsApp backups on Google Drive or local storage, while iPhone users benefit from iCloud as the default backup platform.
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