The Ultimate Guide to WhatsApp Backup

WhatsApp from Facebook is one of the most widely used messaging applications today, with over 2 billion users. WhatsApp allows sending text messages, making voice calls and even video chat, and sharing media files.

WhatsApp Backup lets users store chat history, media files, and settings in a cloud-based storage. This ensures you can regain your details even on a different device or after accidentally deleting the application.

To protect all your data on WhatsApp, consider backing up WhatsApp data onto a cloud service like Google Drive or iCloud or on your storage. To help you restore your WhatsApp data on your new device or recover it when you lose or damage your phone, back it up.

We will learn how you can backup WhatsApp data to cloud storage, restore it, manage it, and resolve some of the common issues while restoring the WhatsApp backup.

Backing up your WhatsApp data offers many advantages, ensuring you always retain cherished conversations, essential media files, and valuable contacts. Here are some key reasons why creating a WhatsApp backup is necessary:

• Peace of Mind: Prevent data loss! Whether you accidentally delete a chat, experience a device malfunction, or lose your phone entirely, a secure backup ensures your data remains safe and accessible.

• Easy Restoration: Switching to a new phone or needing to reinstall WhatsApp? No problem! A backup lets you quickly restore your entire chat history, media files, and settings to your new device, picking up where you left off. 

• Recover Lost Messages: A recent backup can salvage those lost conversations even if you accidentally delete a message or entire chat.

• Safeguard Important Information: WhatsApp often stores crucial information beyond just messages. Backups ensure you keep essential contact details, notes, photos, or videos shared within chats.

• Convenience and Flexibility: Backing up your data allows you to access it quickly from any device with an internet connection. This capability can be helpful if you need to retrieve specific information while away from your phone.

By taking advantage of WhatsApp’s backup features, you gain peace of mind and safeguard your valuable communication history.

WhatsApp offers automatic and manual backup options for different user preferences. Here’s a breakdown to help you decide which method works best for you:

• Pros: Automated backups are more convenient and less stressful to make. Snapshots happen automatically with no input from the user, which means user data is always fresh at any given time.

• Cons: Automatic backups need Wi-Fi and space in the cloud to store the backup version of the file. They are not very suitable if you have limited storage or if you want more control over the backup procedure.

• Pros: It provides more control over when backups occur. Manual backup is helpful if you have limited cloud storage and want to manage what gets backed up.

• Cons: Requires manual initiation, increasing the risk of forgetting to back up your data regularly.

Tip: Regardless of your choice, experts recommend periodically checking when the last automatic backup occurred for peace of mind.

• Manual backup by user action is ideal for users with limited cloudspace, or those who want more control over backup.

• Manual backups are for users with restricted cloud storage or needing more control over a backup.

To create a backup for WhatsApp, you must have a Google account (Android phone) / Apple ID (iPhone) and enough space in your cloud store or locally. Here are the steps on how to backup WhatsApp data to Google Drive and iCloud.

For those curious about where WhatsApp stores backups on Android and iPhone, the app automatically saves data to either Google Drive or iCloud. To learn more about storage locations, see our article on Where is WhatsApp Backup Stored on Android and iPhone.

It boasts various features, but the most important ones regarding the backups are end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to guarantee the protection of users’ information.

• Encryption Keys and Passwords: When E2EE backups are enabled, each backup is encrypted with a different random encryption key, specific for the concrete backup only.

• Backup Key Vault: When a user opts for a password, the system stores the key in a Backup Key Vault built based on a hardware security module (HSM) component. The HSM-based Backup Key Vault enforces password verification attempts and renders the key permanently inaccessible after a limited number of unsuccessful attempts to access it.

• Accessing Backups: The account owner can access their backup with their encryption key or use their password to retrieve their encryption key from the HSM-based Backup Key Vault and decrypt their backup.

• Storing Keys: WhatsApp’s front-end service, ChatD, handles client connections and client-server authentication and implements a protocol that sends the keys to the backups to and from WhatsApp’s servers.

• Cloud Storage: When you create an end-to-end encrypted backup in iCloud or Google Drive, the cloud stores your messages and media. A password or a 64-digit encryption key secures them.

These security measures protect against brute-force attempts to retrieve the key. With these measures, neither WhatsApp nor the backup service provider can access the user’s backup or backup encryption key.

Managing WhatsApp backup size is crucial, especially with limited cloud storage. Here are some practical tips:

1. Exclude Media from Backups: By default, WhatsApp backs up media files like photos, videos, and voice notes, which can significantly inflate backup size. To reduce it:

• Go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
• Turn off the option to include videos in backups.

• Navigate to Settings > Storage and Data > Manage Storage.
• Sort chats by size and delete unnecessary media directly.

2. Delete Large Chats and Media: Identify and clear extensive conversations:

3. Regularly Clear Cache: Removing temporary files from WhatsApp’s cache reduces local storage use, indirectly minimising backup size.

4. Use File Compression Apps: Compress important media before uploading to ensure smaller file sizes.

5. Archive Old Chats: Instead of keeping unused conversations in your primary backup, archive them to maintain a leaner backup.

By actively managing your backups, you can conserve storage space and improve efficiency.

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) for WhatsApp backups ensures that no one, not even WhatsApp, can access your backup content. Here’s how you can enable it:

1. Understand E2EE for Backups: Unlike regular encryption, E2EE secures your backups with a unique key that you can access only.

2. Steps to Enable Encryption:

• Open WhatsApp and go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
• Select End-to-End Encrypted Backup and tap Turn On.
• Follow the prompts to create a password or generate a 64-digit encryption key. Save this key securely.

3. Restore Encrypted Backups: You’ll need your password or key to restore encrypted backups. Losing it means you cannot access the backup.

4. Benefits of Encrypted Backups:

• Prevents unauthorised access in case of cloud breaches.
• Adds an extra layer of privacy to sensitive data.

E2EE is a must-have for users who are concerned about data privacy and security.

While WhatsApp backups are convenient, they come with certain limitations:

• Storage Space Restrictions: Online backups are linked with Google Drive if the Android device or iCloud if the iOS device. If your backup size is larger than the space available, it will only partially execute.

• Media File Support: Some file types, like specific document formats or system-level files, may not be included in backups.

• Incremental Backups: WhatsApp does not support accurate incremental backups. This means every backup overwrites the previous one, consuming more data and storage.

• Cross-Platform Compatibility: Transferring backups between Android and iOS can be challenging, with limited official solutions available.

• Encryption Dependency: While E2EE secures backups, losing the encryption key or password means permanent data loss.

• Manual Backup Gaps: Users relying on manual backups may lose recent chats if not done regularly.

Understanding these limitations lets you make informed decisions and plan alternative backup solutions.

There are several alternative methods and tools for backing up WhatsApp data:

• Local Storage: You can back up your WhatsApp data to your phone’s local storage. Local storage option is straightforward but requires sufficient storage space on your device. Check out this article to learn how to restore WhatsApp Backup from internal storage.

• Email: You can back up individual or group chats via email, which allows you to keep a record of specific conversations.

• Screenshots: Taking screenshots of your chats is another way to keep a record of your conversations. This technique may only work for short conversations and media support files.

• Third-Party Tools: You can use third-party tools to back up your WhatsApp info.

• • WooTechy WhatsMover: This tool offers free means to back up all your WhatsApp data on your PC.

• • iCareFone: supports various data transfer methods, including Android to Android, iPhone to iPad, iPad to iPhone, Android to iPhone, and iPhone to Android.

• • MobileTrans: This tool enables you to save messages, pictures, videos, and other attachments on your PC or transfer them from one device to another, either Android or iOS.

• • iTransor: allows you to drag and drop your data from Android to iOS. Next, iTransor lets you copy your iPhone and Android data to the computer and then transfer it back to your iPhone whenever you wish.

However, when using a third-party tool, you need to be extra cautious and ensure the security and credibility of the tools you desire to use to back up your data anytime. It is equally crucial to mention that some suggested techniques may not guarantee the same degree of safety afforded to whomever by the official Whatsapp’s built-in backup tool.

Restoring WhatsApp backup is a straightforward process that lets you retrieve your data on a new phone or after reinstalling the app. Here’s what you can expect:

• Compatibility: To restore a backup, you must use the same phone number and associated Google Account (Android) or Apple ID (iPhone) used to create the backup.

• Selective Restore: Depending on your device and WhatsApp version, you can restore only chat history selectively or include media files.

• Data Retrieval: The restore process transfers your WhatsApp chat history, contacts, media (based on your selection), and settings to your new device.

Here’s a general guideline for restoring your WhatsApp chat backup (specific steps may vary slightly depending on your device):

1. Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp on your new device.
2. Verify your phone number with the SMS code you receive.
3. When prompted, choose “Restore” from your backup.
4. Wait for the restoration process to complete.

Tip: Ensure you have a stable Wi-Fi connection for a faster and more reliable backup restoration process.

Some of the potential causes of failure to restore your WhatsApp backup include:

• It is the different phone number or Google account/Apple ID with which you had created the backup.

• You cannot restore the backup because there is no space on your phone or insufficient storage in your cloud.

• You cannot download the backup as it needs a faster and more reliable Internet connection.

• The backup file you have loaded is corrupt or incompatible with your phone.

• Sometimes, accidental deletion of messages might occur.

If you’ve lost essential messages and didn’t have a backup, check out our guide on how to restore deleted WhatsApp messages without backup.

To fix the above listed WhatsApp issues, you can try the following solutions:

• Ensure you use the same phone number and Google account/Apple ID with which you established the Backup.

• Clear out unnecessary files or programs on your mobile or external storage devices and erase them to free up space.

• Ensure your device taps into a well-connected couple of Wi-Fi services or has been on mobile data if the Wi-Fi hyperlink is unavailable.

• Remove your initial backup file and recreate it following the previous steps.

Do you need help with your WhatsApp backup process? For troubleshooting tips, explore 5 ways to fix WhatsApp Backup stuck issue in 2024.

However, WhatsApp still needs to make cross-platform backup and restore available. Thus, moving the official WhatsApp backup from Android to iPhone is impossible and vice versa. Fortunately, some external tools and applications, like the Wondershare MobileTrans tool, BackUpTrans app, and Dr. Fone, promise to assist you. 

These are available on Google, and you should follow the guidelines these external assistance providers provide. However, these tools must be more secure and reliable and follow WhatsApp’s terms of service.

The following are security recommendations to ensure that WhatsApp’s Backup is safe.

• Create a strong password for your Google account or Apple ID and use additional security using two-factor authentication.

• Never disclose your phone number or verification code to an individual claiming to be a WhatsApp representative or one from another service.

• Do not download suspicious files or follow suspicious links containing malware and viruses.

• Do not use illegal or unlawful tools or applications that may cause you to lose your WhatsApp information or account.

Understanding how to back up your WhatsApp data is crucial for protecting and safeguarding your cherished messages, photos, chats, and contacts. Following these steps will ensure that your data won’t be lost in case of accidental deletion or device loss. Always keep your data backed up so as not to lose it; try using more than one method of backing up for extra security measures.

Ultimately, depending on your case, whether you back up locally or off-site via the cloud, select an approach that best meets these and many other requirements. Backing up WhatsApp data makes one confident that their precious moments and significant dialogues are safe.