WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. It allows users to send messages, photos, videos and make voice and video calls. WhatsApp also provides the ability to backup chats to Google Drive or iCloud. This allows users to restore their chat history if they lose their phone or switch to a new device.
The WhatsApp backup file contains the user’s chat databases and media files. It is stored in an encrypted format for security reasons. However, some users may want to view the contents of their WhatsApp backup for various purposes. This raises the question – can we open WhatsApp backup files?
Accessing WhatsApp Backup Files
WhatsApp backups are stored in the phone’s internal storage in the WhatsApp/Databases folder. For Android phones, you can access this folder by connecting your phone to a computer via USB and browsing the phone’s files. For iPhones, you need to create an unencrypted iTunes or iCloud backup to view WhatsApp backups.
Google Drive and iCloud backups are also encrypted by default. To view their contents on a computer, users need to decrypt them first. This can be done using third-party apps like Backuptrans Android WhatsApp Transfer or iBackup Viewer. However, decrypting backups is not officially supported by WhatsApp and violates their terms of service.
Directly Viewing Backup Files
WhatsApp encrypts backups using 256-bit AES encryption. This makes it very difficult to directly view the contents of the backup files. Even if you copy the backup files from your phone to a computer, they will appear to be gibberish data in encrypted form.
Some ways people have tried to read WhatsApp backups directly include:
- Using SQLite browsers – WhatsApp uses SQLite databases to store chats. But SQLite browsers cannot read the encrypted data.
- Opening in text editors – Text editors like Notepad++ cannot decrypt the data so only encrypted content is visible.
- Using file recovery tools – The encryption means these tools also cannot recover any meaningful data from backups.
So directly viewing WhatsApp backup files is not possible due to the strong encryption used.
Decrypting WhatsApp Backups
To read the actual contents of a WhatsApp backup, it must be decrypted first. This decryption requires the encryption key, which is unique to each user’s backup.
Here are some ways the encryption key can be retrieved to decrypt WhatsApp backups:
From Local iPhone and Android Backups
- On iPhone, the encryption keys are stored in iCloud backups. Tools like iBackupBot and iBackup Viewer can decrypt local iOS backups along with WhatsApp backups.
- For Android phones, the keys are part of the Google Drive backup. Apps like Backuptrans Android WhatsApp Transfer use the Google Drive backup to decrypt WhatsApp data.
Cracking the Encryption Key
Some advanced ways researchers have tried to crack the encryption key include:
- Brute-force attacks – Trying all possible combinations of the 256-bit key. This is unfeasible due to the large key size.
- Exploiting flaws in WhatsApp’s encryption implementation to retrieve keys.
- Retrieving decryption keys from phone RAM by rooting the device.
However, these methods are complex, require technical expertise and are not guaranteed to work on all devices.
With User’s WhatsApp Password
If the user’s WhatsApp password is known, tools like WhatsApp Key/DB Extractor can decrypt WhatsApp backups by combining the password with the backup file. However, this only works for older backups as WhatsApp has strengthened their encryption.
Using Decrypted WhatsApp Backups
Once decrypted, WhatsApp backups can be opened and their contents viewed. The decrypted data will contain:
- SQLite databases – These store all chat messages and can be opened using SQLite browser tools like DB Browser for SQLite.
- Media files – Photos, videos and documents exchanged in chats are stored here.
- Other data – Contact info, call history, starred messages etc.
So in summary, while encrypted WhatsApp backups cannot be directly viewed, it is possible to decrypt them and access the chat databases as well as media files with some effort. But this violates WhatsApp’s policies.
Legalities of Decrypting WhatsApp Backups
WhatsApp encrypts backups to protect user privacy. So decrypting backups without user consent raises some legal concerns:
- It may violate laws like the Computer Misuse Act in some countries.
- WhatsApp’s Terms of Service prohibits reverse-engineering and decrypting its encrypted data.
- User consent is required to legally access private communications like WhatsApp chats.
- In countries like India, it can be illegal to view someone’s private data without authorization.
So while it may be technically possible to decrypt WhatsApp backups, doing so without proper authorization could be illegal. It is best to avoid decrypting other people’s backups without consent.
Conclusion
To summarize:
- Directly viewing encrypted WhatsApp backup files is not possible.
- WhatsApp backups can be decrypted by retrieving the encryption key from various sources.
- Once decrypted, SQLite databases can be viewed for chat history and media files accessed.
- However, decrypting WhatsApp backups without user permission raises legal issues of consent and privacy.
While accessing your own WhatsApp backup for genuine purposes may be acceptable, attempting to decrypt other people’s backups without authorization should be avoided due to legal and ethical concerns over consent and privacy.