WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. One of the key features of WhatsApp is its ability to backup chats to Google Drive or iCloud, allowing users to restore their message history if they lose their phone or switch to a new device.
What does WhatsApp backup?
The WhatsApp backup contains nearly all of your account information and settings, including:
- Your profile photo and info
- All your individual and group chats
- Your media from chats – photos, videos and voice messages
- WhatsApp settings and privacy settings
So in short, the WhatsApp backup does include all of your messages. It’s an encrypted backup of your full message history with WhatsApp. There are a few minor exceptions covered below.
What doesn’t get backed up?
While the WhatsApp backup captures almost everything, there are a couple of things that don’t get saved:
- Your call history – any calls made or received on WhatsApp are not backed up
- Files or documents larger than 100MB – these will not be included in the backup
- Accounts linked to a corporate WhatsApp account – these cannot be backed up as they are managed by administrators
So in most cases, your full message history will be preserved in the backup. The only exceptions are very large files, call logs, and corporate accounts.
Backup size and frequency
Backups can be rather large, depending on how actively you use WhatsApp. The maximum backup size is currently:
- Android – Up to 2GB per backup file
- iPhone – Unlimited, uses your total iCloud storage
You can configure WhatsApp to backup at any interval you like – from daily to monthly. The default is a daily backup to your linked Google Drive or iCloud account.
Manually backing up chats
WhatsApp also allows you to manually trigger a backup anytime, rather than waiting for the scheduled backup. Here is how to manually backup on each platform:
On Android:
- Open WhatsApp Settings
- Tap Chats > Chat Backup > Back Up Now
On iPhone:
- Go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup
- Tap Back Up Now
This will instantly perform a backup of your WhatsApp chats to your linked cloud storage. Handy if you want to make sure your messages are saved before resetting or changing phones.
How to restore from a WhatsApp backup
If you ever lose your phone or switch to a new device, you can restore your full message history from a WhatsApp backup. Here’s how:
On Android
- Install WhatsApp on your new device
- Verify your number when prompted
- On the Restore Chats screen, tap Restore to pull chats from your Google Drive backup
On iPhone
- Install WhatsApp and verify number
- When prompted, tap Restore Chat History to load from iCloud backup
- Select the backup date you want to restore
And that’s it! Your full message history including text, media, groups and settings will be restored to your new phone.
Ensuring your chats are backed up
To make sure you never lose your chat history, it’s good practice to occasionally check that WhatsApp backups are working properly. Here are some tips:
- Enable auto backup in WhatsApp settings if you haven’t already
- Check your backup settings – adjust the frequency and backup size if needed
- Trigger a manual backup occasionally before updating your OS or WhatsApp
- When switching phones, remember to back up before moving your SIM card
- Check the date of your last backup – make sure it’s recent
- Make sure you have enough storage space for backups
Third party backup tools
There are also various third party apps that provide additional backup features beyond WhatsApp’s built-in tools:
- Google Drive – Allows WhatsApp backups up to 2GB to be saved to your Google account.
- iCloud – Provides unlimited WhatsApp backup storage for iPhone users.
- SHAREit – File transfer app that can backup and restore WhatsApp chats.
- dr.fone – Desktop software that can extract WhatsApp data from phone backups.
However, for most users the built-in WhatsApp backup should be sufficient. Third party tools provide extra features for advanced users.
Backup encryption
WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption for messages in transit, but backs up chats in an encrypted format on Google Drive and iCloud. The encryption key is stored in your phone – WhatsApp cannot read your backed up messages.
On Android, backups are not encrypted by default but you can enable encrypted backups. On iPhone, WhatsApp backups are always encrypted.
While encrypted, unauthorized access to your backup could compromise privacy. So backups are not advisable for some highly sensitive information.
Limitations of WhatsApp backup
While WhatsApp backup is very useful, some limitations to be aware of:
- No backup of call history
- Large media files (over 100MB) excluded
- Interface less intuitive than native iPhone/Android backup
- Encryption keys only stored on one device – lose your phone, lose backups
- Relies on Google Drive or iCloud – if account banned, lose backups
So while very capable, WhatsApp backup is not a foolproof archive of all your chats. Maintaining your own backups is wise.
Alternative WhatsApp backup tools
If you want an alternative backup solution beyond WhatsApp’s own tools, some options include:
- Local backups – Use a tool like iMazing to backup WhatsApp chats to your computer.
- External drives – Manually copy WhatsApp chat databases to an external hard drive or USB stick.
- Cloud storage – Use a service like Dropbox to store unencrypted WhatsApp backups.
- WhatsApp Exporter – Apps like WazzapMigrator that export chats to PDF or CSV format.
Each approach has pros and cons to weigh up. But an alternative backup ensures you have multiple copies of your chat history.
Can I selectively backup chats?
Unfortunately, WhatsApp does not allow you to selectively backup only certain chats or contacts. The backup will always contain your full message history.
Some third party tools like iMazing let you view WhatsApp backups and select which chats to export. But the official WhatsApp backup will still be all or nothing.
If you only want to backup certain chats, some workarounds include:
- Manually exporting specific chats – Copy/paste messages or use export tools
- Backing up the whole archive, then selectively deleting chats
- Using a different app like Telegram or Signal for chats you don’t want backed up
There is no perfect solution here, short of WhatsApp itself allowing selective chat backup.
Should I be concerned about security?
WhatsApp provides end-to-end encryption for messages in transit, meaning messages can only be read by the sender and recipient. However, WhatsApp backups are encrypted but not end-to-end encrypted.
This means WhatsApp themselves cannot read your backed up messages, but unauthorized access to your Google Drive or iCloud account could compromise chat history privacy.
Some precautions to take:
- Enable encrypted backups on Android
- Use strong passwords on cloud storage accounts
- Avoid backing up very sensitive information
- Delete backups from Google Drive/iCloud after restoring to a new phone
While not perfectly secure, WhatsApp backup is reasonably private for most non-sensitive chats.
Can I transfer WhatsApp chats between platforms?
WhatsApp does not officially support transferring chat history between iOS and Android. Backups are platform specific.
However, there are some unofficial tools like CopyTrans and iCareFone that can transfer WhatsApp chats between iPhone and Android. The process is convoluted and not guaranteed.
Your best bet is to use a multi-platform chat app like Telegram or Signal if you need to transfer chats between devices using different operating systems.
Key takeaways
- WhatsApp backups include nearly all chats, media and settings – with minor exceptions.
- Backups occur automatically to Google Drive or iCloud at your chosen interval.
- You can also manually trigger a backup anytime before resetting or changing phones.
- To restore, install WhatsApp on your new device and restore from backup.
- Enable auto-backup and test it occasionally to avoid losing chat history.
- Backups are encrypted but not perfectly secure – use common sense with sensitive data.
Conclusion
WhatsApp backup provides an automated way to preserve your full chat history – text messages, media, contacts and more. While not flawless, it’s a vital tool to avoid losing your conversations if you ever switch phones or lose a device.
Occasionally verifying backups and restoring to a test device is wise. But for most purposes, WhatsApp backup is a handy solution that removes the headache of transferring your chat history manually.