WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. It allows users to send messages, photos, videos, documents and more to individuals or groups. WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption, meaning messages are secured and can only be read by the sender and recipient.
WhatsApp also offers backup options so users don’t lose their chat history if they lose their phone or switch devices. One of the backup options is to save chats to Google Drive. This connects your WhatsApp account to your Google account and regularly saves your chat history and media to your Drive storage.
Do deleted WhatsApp messages get deleted from Google Drive?
When you delete a WhatsApp message or chat, it gets deleted from your phone’s storage immediately. However, it does not get deleted or removed from your Google Drive backup at the same time.
Deleted WhatsApp messages and chats remain saved in your Google Drive backup until the next time the backup runs. WhatsApp usually backs up to Google Drive daily if you have it enabled. So deleted messages can remain available in Google Drive for up to 24 hours until the next backup.
The next time WhatsApp backs up your data to Google Drive, it will remove any messages and chats that have been deleted from your phone during the past day. The deleted messages will get permanently removed from the Drive backup.
Can you view deleted WhatsApp messages saved in Google Drive?
While deleted WhatsApp messages remain saved temporarily in your Google Drive backup, you cannot directly view them using the Google Drive interface. Google Drive will only display your latest WhatsApp backup files.
However, there are a few indirect ways you can view deleted WhatsApp messages that were saved in your Google Drive backup:
- Restore an earlier WhatsApp backup – This will overwrite your current WhatsApp data and chats with the earlier backup file containing the deleted messages from Google Drive.
- Use third-party apps – Some apps claim to unlock access to your WhatsApp Google Drive backup files and deleted messages.
- Rooted Android device – You can view WhatsApp backup files directly if your Android device is rooted.
Should you be concerned about deleted WhatsApp messages in Google Drive?
For most users, there is little reason to be concerned about deleted WhatsApp messages remaining temporarily in Google Drive backups:
- Messages remain only for up to 1 day before permanent removal.
- Messages cannot be directly accessed using Google Drive.
- Backup files are encrypted using keys only known to your device.
- Visiting chats on WhatsApp web won’t show deleted messages.
- Restoring a backup overrides current chats which may be undesirable.
However, for utmost privacy, you can stop backing up to Google Drive in WhatsApp settings. But this means you lose the benefit of chat backups.
Should you delete WhatsApp messages from Google Drive using account settings?
You could delete your WhatsApp chat backup files entirely from Google Drive storage settings. But this will mean:
- All your WhatsApp chat history is deleted from the cloud backup.
- Your chat history cannot be restored if you lose your phone.
- Your WhatsApp account cannot be synced across devices.
Instead of deleting entire WhatsApp backups from Google Drive, it’s better to selectively delete sensitive chats before they get backed up.
Or you can stop Google Drive backups and use only local WhatsApp backups. But this lacks the convenience of cloud syncing across devices.
How does WhatsApp backup encryption work with Google Drive?
WhatsApp utilizes end-to-end encryption for messages. This means no third-party can access or read your chats, not even WhatsApp itself.
WhatsApp implements a similar level of encryption for Google Drive backups:
- Each backup file is encrypted by a unique encryption key.
- The encryption key is only known to your device and WhatsApp.
- Without the key, the backup file contents cannot be accessed.
- If your phone is lost, you can restore the key using a QR code.
So even though backup files are stored on Google Drive, their contents remain inaccessible to Google or anyone else besides you.
Can you selectively exclude chats from Google Drive backup?
WhatsApp does not natively support excluding specific chats from Google Drive backup. Your options are:
- Turn off Google Drive backup entirely in WhatsApp settings.
- Manually delete sensitive chats before the daily backup runs.
- Use a third party app like WAMR to exclude chats from backup (requires root).
To prevent sensitive chats from ever being backed up, delete them from your WhatsApp before the next scheduled Google Drive backup.
Does WhatsApp store deleted messages on its servers?
No, WhatsApp does not store any deleted messages on its servers. When you delete a WhatsApp message, it is removed from WhatsApp’s servers immediately.
The only place deleted WhatsApp messages may persist temporarily is in your Google Drive or local backups, not on WhatsApp’s servers. But they too get removed during the next backup cycle.
Can WhatsApp moderators see deleted messages?
No, WhatsApp moderators are unable to see deleted messages in private chats due to WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption.
When messages are deleted, they are permanently removed from WhatsApp’s servers and there is no way to retrieve them.
Not even WhatsApp itself can access the content of users’ private end-to-end encrypted chats.
Conclusion
To summarize:
- Deleted WhatsApp messages remain temporarily in Google Drive backup for up to 24 hours.
- They cannot be directly viewed from Google Drive.
- You can restore earlier backups containing deletions.
- Stop Google Drive backups entirely if privacy is critical.
- Manually deleting chats before backup prevents archiving.
So while deleted WhatsApp messages may persist briefly in Google Drive backup files, these backups are encrypted and inaccessible to anyone besides you as the user. For most purposes, your deleted WhatsApp messages are fully removed within a day’s backup cycle.