With over 2 billion monthly active users worldwide, WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps. Naturally, users have a lot of questions about managing their WhatsApp data, including whether they can delete their WhatsApp data after backing it up.
Can WhatsApp Data Be Deleted After Backup?
The short answer is yes, you can delete your WhatsApp data even after backing it up. Backing up your WhatsApp data does not lock it in place or prevent you from deleting it later if you want to.
When you back up your WhatsApp data, whether to Google Drive or locally, you are simply creating a copy of that data that is stored separately from your actual WhatsApp app. The backup does not sync constantly with your live WhatsApp data, so if you delete your conversations, media, or anything else in the WhatsApp app after backing up, that deleted data will not reappear from the backup.
How WhatsApp Backups Work
To understand why you can delete WhatsApp data after backing up, it helps to understand how WhatsApp backups work:
- Backups do not happen automatically or continuously – you have to manually trigger them.
- Your WhatsApp data and backup are two separate copies – changes to one do not affect the other.
- Restoring from a backup does not merge the backup and live data – it overwrites the WhatsApp app data.
- Manually deleting WhatsApp data removes it completely from your phone.
So in essence, your backup is like a snapshot of your WhatsApp data at the point in time when you created the backup. Anything you do in WhatsApp afterward, including deleting conversations, media, groups, etc does not get synced to that backup copy.
Examples of Deleting WhatsApp Data After Backup
Here are some examples of how you can delete WhatsApp data after backing up, and what happens in each scenario:
Deleting Old Conversations
Let’s say you back up your WhatsApp data on Monday. The backup contains a year’s worth of conversations with a friend. On Tuesday, you decide to clear out old conversations with that friend, leaving only the most recent 2 months of chats on your phone.
In this case, when you check your backup later, you will still see the entire year’s worth of conversations, even though you deleted most of them from your live WhatsApp. The deletion did not sync to the backup. You were able to delete conversations after backing up.
Deleting Groups
You back up your WhatsApp, including a couple of groups you are part of. A month later, you decide to leave those groups, which removes them from your WhatsApp. However, the group data remains untouched in your WhatsApp backup, so you were able to delete groups after backing up.
Deleting Media
You receive and back up a 10GB video file sent via WhatsApp. The next day, you delete that video from your WhatsApp storage to free up space. The video remains safely stored in your backup, so the media deletion did not affect the backup version. You successfully deleted media after backing up.
Deleting Entire Chat History
You back up your WhatsApp before doing a factory reset on your phone. After setting up WhatsApp again post-reset, you decide to delete your entire chat history within WhatsApp. This completely erases all conversations, groups, media etc from your phone’s WhatsApp. However, that data all remains available in your backup. So full deletion of WhatsApp data can be done after backing up.
When Deleted WhatsApp Data Reappears
In some cases, WhatsApp data you deleted after a backup may reappear. This happens when you restore your WhatsApp from the backup where that data still exists. For example:
- You backup WhatsApp and delete a chat. Later you restore WhatsApp from that backup. The deleted chat reappears.
- You delete a group after backing up, but restore the backup weeks later. That group gets restored.
- You remove photos after backup. Restoring brings the photos back.
So in a nutshell, deleting WhatsApp data removes it from your phone at that point in time, but not from any backups. Restoring a backup brings back any data that was deleted after that backup was created.
How to Permanently Delete WhatsApp Data
If you want to permanently delete specific WhatsApp data so that it does not reappear when restoring from a backup, you need to:
- Delete the data from your live WhatsApp app on your phone.
- Back up your WhatsApp again to update the backup with your deletions.
- Either delete the old backup, or restore WhatsApp only from the new backup.
Following these steps ensures the unwanted data is removed from both your phone WhatsApp and your backups. Just deleting from your phone but keeping old backups containing that data will bring it back when restoring.
Other WhatsApp Backup Tips
Here are some additional tips related to managing your WhatsApp data and backups:
- Back up important WhatsApp data frequently to avoid losing it.
- WhatsApp backs up over WiFi by default to save cellular data usage. Connect to WiFi to back up.
- You can manually back up WhatsApp anytime by going into WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
- Turn off auto backup if you don’t want your WhatsApp data periodically saved to Google Drive.
- Create local backups periodically as an extra safeguard against data loss.
- Delete old WhatsApp backups you no longer need from Google Drive or device storage.
- Pay attention to any error messages during backup to avoid unsuccessful backups.
Can I Restore Deleted WhatsApp Messages?
If you deleted WhatsApp messages and did not back up your WhatsApp chat history prior to deleting the messages, it becomes very difficult to recover them. However, there are a few options you can try:
- Restore from Google Drive or Local Backup: If you had set up backups, you may be able to restore deleted messages from the latest backup.
- Use Data Recovery Software: Some advanced third party software claim to recover deleted WhatsApp messages, with varying degrees of success.
- Retrieve from Notification Log: On Android, check the notification log for snippets of recent deleted messages.
But beyond those options, there is no way to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages from the app itself. That’s why it’s crucial to regularly back up your WhatsApp chats.
Can I Selectively Restore Chats from Backup?
WhatsApp does not currently offer a way to selectively restore only certain conversations from a backup. When you restore from a local or Google Drive backup, all the backed up WhatsApp data gets restored. You cannot pick and choose only certain chats to restore.
The only workaround is to use a third party app like iMazing (for iOS) or Swift Backup (for Android) to view your WhatsApp backups as files and selectively export certain chats from the backup. But this does not integrate into the WhatsApp restore process.
Since restoring chat history also restores all associated media and downloads, selectively restoring data can help save storage space. But for now, WhatsApp only allows full restoration from backups, not selective.
Does WhatsApp Sync Deleted Data Across Devices?
WhatsApp does not currently sync deleted data across linked devices. If you delete a chat or media on one device, it does not automatically get deleted on your other linked devices as well through WhatsApp’s multi-device sync.
So if you delete old chats or media on your phone WhatsApp, they will still show up on WhatsApp Web or your tablet app unless you manually delete them there as well. Deletions do not sync across devices.
The only way a deletion syncs is if you restore from a WhatsApp backup from one device onto another device. For example, if you restore WhatsApp on your new phone from a backup of your old phone where you had deleted data, that data will be absent on the new phone.
Should I Delete WhatsApp When Switching Phones?
It is not mandatory to delete your WhatsApp data when switching to a new phone. As long as you have a good backup, you can easily transfer your existing WhatsApp history and data to your new phone.
However, if you are passing your old phone to someone else, you may want to delete WhatsApp before doing so for privacy reasons. You have a few options:
- Erase All Data: Perform a factory reset on your old phone to wipe all apps and data, including WhatsApp.
- Remove WhatsApp: Delete just the WhatsApp app from your old phone to erase chat history.
- Delete Account: Log into WhatsApp > Settings > Account > Delete Account to remove account and data.
As long as you have a good backup, deleting WhatsApp from your old phone will allow you to keep using it seamlessly on your new phone when you restore during setup.
Can I Delete WhatsApp Backups?
Yes, you can delete WhatsApp backups if you no longer need them. Here’s how to delete WhatsApp backups:
Delete Google Drive Backups
- Open Google Drive and locate WhatsApp backup folder.
- Select the backup you want to delete.
- Click Delete backup.
- Confirm deletion in popup.
Delete Local Android Backups
- Go to WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
- Tap on Delete All Backups.
- Confirm deletion when prompted.
Delete Local iOS Backups
- Go to WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
- Tap on Disable and then Delete Backup.
- Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage to free up space.
It’s a good idea to occasionally clear out old WhatsApp backups that you no longer need. However, don’t delete backups before verifying they are safely stored elsewhere.
Can I Free Up Space By Deleting WhatsApp Data?
Yes, one of the best ways to free up storage space from WhatsApp is by deleting old chats, media files and other cached data it stores on your phone. Here are some tips to delete WhatsApp data and free up space:
- Delete old chat threads you no longer need
- Clear out old photos and videos, especially large files
- Remove unused voice messages and recordings
- Delete big files forwarded or received on WhatsApp
- Clear WhatsApp cache and residual junk files
- Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp to clear all data
- Disable auto-download of media in WhatsApp settings
It’s also a good idea to backup your important WhatsApp data, so you have a copy before removing anything. With large media files, WhatsApp can take up over 1GB of storage, so clearing old data periodically helps free up space.
Should I Delete WhatsApp If Not Using It?
If you have stopped using WhatsApp and do not see yourself needing it in the foreseeable future, it may be a good idea to delete your WhatsApp account and app data. Here are some reasons why you may want to delete WhatsApp if not using it:
- Privacy and security – Deleting account removes data from WhatsApp servers
- Free up phone storage space used by WhatsApp and media files
- Avoid old messages/groups spontaneously reappearing if you reinstall WhatsApp
- Stop associated notifications and data usage by WhatsApp
- Overall decluttering by removing unused apps and accounts
On the other hand, reasons for keeping WhatsApp even if inactive include:
- Keep easy access to old chat history and media
- Maintain continuity of WhatsApp number linking
- Avoid losing access to important old data from WhatsApp
- Possibility of using WhatsApp again in the future
Overall, if you have backed up your important WhatsApp data and are sure you won’t need it for a long time, deleting it can be beneficial. But deleting your account permanently erases all chat history and media files from WhatsApp.
Conclusion
WhatsApp makes it easy to back up your important chat history, media, and account data. Fortunately, creating a backup does not prevent you from later deleting specific WhatsApp data or your entire account. You retain full control and ability to delete chats, groups, media files, and other information from your live WhatsApp even after backing up.
Just be aware that any deleted data can return if you restore your WhatsApp from the backup where it still exists. Manage your backups wisely, delete things completely when needed, and restore carefully to avoid bringing back data you removed. With some basic management, you can successfully delete WhatsApp data after backing up.