WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. It allows users to send messages, photos, videos, documents and make voice and video calls. However, one common issue many WhatsApp users face is accidentally deleting important chats and media and then needing to recover them.
If you have an iPhone and have deleted WhatsApp chats that you now need to retrieve, the good news is – it is possible to recover deleted WhatsApp chats on iPhone. In this comprehensive guide, we will look at how you can get back deleted WhatsApp messages, media, and conversations on your iPhone.
Can You Recover Deleted WhatsApp Chats on iPhone?
Yes, it is possible to recover deleted WhatsApp messages, even if you have cleared the chat history. When you delete a chat or media on WhatsApp, it is not immediately erased from your iPhone. The deleted data still exists on your device until it is overwritten by new data.
By using the right third-party iOS data recovery software before the deleted WhatsApp data gets overwritten, you can extract the deleted WhatsApp chats and media from your iPhone backup and restore them to your device or export them for viewing.
Requirements for Recovering Deleted WhatsApp Chats on iPhone
To recover deleted WhatsApp chats on your iPhone, the following requirements must be met:
- Your iPhone must have been backed up either locally on iTunes or iCloud before the chats were deleted. The deleted WhatsApp data can only be extracted from these backups.
- Your iPhone should not have been restored after the WhatsApp messages were deleted. Restoring your iPhone from a backup will overwrite any deleted data.
- You need to avoid any new data overwrite on your iPhone by not adding new WhatsApp chats, media etc. This minimizes permanent data loss.
- You need iOS data recovery software that can scan iPhone and iTunes backups and extract deleted WhatsApp data from them.
How to Recover Deleted WhatsApp Chats on iPhone
Here are the steps to follow to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages and media on your iPhone using iOS data recovery software:
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Backup Your iPhone Data
Connect your iPhone to your computer and create a new backup either on iTunes or iCloud. This backup will contain the deleted WhatsApp data that you need to recover.
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Download & Install iOS Data Recovery Software
Download and install a reliable iOS data recovery app like iMyFone D-Back on your computer. Launch the software and select the ‘WhatsApp Recovery’ mode.
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Scan iPhone or iTunes Backup
Choose to scan either your iPhone directly or an iTunes backup file on your PC. The software will scan the device or backup to find deleted WhatsApp data.
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Preview & Recover Deleted WhatsApp Chats
You can now preview recovered WhatsApp conversations, messages, photos, videos, voice messages, documents etc. Select all data you want to restore and click ‘Recover’ to save the deleted WhatsApp chats and media to your computer.
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Restore Recovered WhatsApp data to iPhone
Once the deleted WhatsApp data is extracted, you can transfer it back to your iPhone by restoring from the backup or using iTunes file sharing to import the recovered chats back to WhatsApp.
Can You Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages Without Backup?
Without an existing iPhone backup, it is nearly impossible to recover deleted WhatsApp chats directly from the iPhone itself. This is because new data continuously overwrites space occupied by deleted data on your device when you continue using it normally. So if you want to restore deleted WhatsApp messages without backup, stop using your iPhone immediately after the accidental deletion.
In this case, you can use iOS data recovery software to attempt scanning your iPhone directly to find any deleted WhatsApp remnants that may not have been overwritten yet. However, this method does not guarantee success in recovering deleted WhatsApp chats from iPhone without backup.
Tips for Recovering Deleted WhatsApp Messages on iPhone
Follow these tips to ensure successful recovery of deleted WhatsApp chats on your iPhone:
- Immediately stop using WhatsApp on your iPhone as soon as you realize important chats are deleted. This prevents overwrite of deleted data.
- Backup your iPhone to either iTunes or iCloud before attempting recovery of deleted WhatsApp messages.
- Use original cables to connect iPhone to computer while scanning device or backups to recover deleted data.
- Preview found data carefully and only select the deleted WhatsApp messages and media you want to restore.
- Save the extracted WhatsApp chats and media to your computer before importing back to iPhone.
Reasons for WhatsApp Chat Deletion on iPhone
Here are some common reasons due to which WhatsApp chats may get deleted on your iPhone unexpectedly:
- Accidentally clearing entire WhatsApp chat history
- Deleting specific WhatsApp chats and later realizing they were important
- Enabling auto-delete messages setting in WhatsApp
- Deleting and reinstalling WhatsApp app erases all data
- Restoring iPhone from a backup deletes WhatsApp data not in backup
- iPhone storage full error can cause WhatsApp crash and data loss
- Jailbreaking iPhone incorrectly wipes WhatsApp data
- Forgetting passcode and resetting iPhone deletes WhatsApp chats
- WhatsApp bugs and glitches causing chat history loss
Can You Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages on Android?
Similar to iPhone, it is also possible to recover deleted WhatsApp chats on Android phones. When you delete WhatsApp messages or conversations on Android, the data still remains on your device and you can retrieve it from Android backups.
Here are the key steps to restore deleted WhatsApp chats on Android:
- Backup your Android phone data using Google Drive backup
- Use Android file recovery software to scan device or Google Drive backup
- The software will find deleted WhatsApp media and conversations
- Preview and select the WhatsApp data you want to recover
- Export the deleted WhatsApp chats and media to computer
- Transfer the recovered WhatsApp chats back to your Android phone
FAQs about Recovering Deleted WhatsApp Messages on iPhone
Here are some frequently asked questions about restoring deleted WhatsApp chats on iPhone:
Can I recover deleted WhatsApp messages from 3 months ago on iPhone?
Yes, you can recover deleted WhatsApp chats from 3 months ago on iPhone by extracting the data from iCloud or iTunes backups created at that time.
Is it possible to recover permanently deleted WhatsApp messages on iPhone?
If the deleted WhatsApp chats have been overwritten by new data, they cannot be recovered. However, you can retrieve permanently deleted WhatsApp messages from iPhone backup before they are overwritten.
Can iPhone data recovery software restore encrypted WhatsApp chats?
No, if WhatsApp end-to-end encryption is enabled, the deleted chats cannot be decrypted and recovered by iOS data recovery apps from the iPhone backups.
Will I get back all media files from deleted WhatsApp conversations on iPhone?
You can recover photos, videos and other media from deleted WhatsApp chats on iPhone as long as they existed in the iPhone backup scanned by the data recovery software.
Is it safe to use data recovery apps to restore deleted WhatsApp chats on iPhone?
Yes, reputable iOS data recovery software like iMyFone D-Back and Dr.Fone are completely safe to use for recovering deleted WhatsApp chats from iPhone and iTunes backups.
Conclusion
Accidentally losing important WhatsApp messages and conversations can be frustrating. Fortunately, with the right iPhone data recovery software and backups, you can easily retrieve deleted WhatsApp chats on your iOS device.
Simply connect your iPhone, scan backups, preview found data and restore the deleted WhatsApp messages you want to recover. Avoid overwriting deleted data and use original cables for highest recovery success. With the techniques outlined in this guide, you can get back lost WhatsApp data on iPhone and continue seamless messaging.