WhatsApp has become an indispensable communication tool for billions of people around the world. It’s common to have years worth of chats, media, documents, and other personal data stored in the app. So if you lose your phone or accidentally delete your WhatsApp account, getting your chat history back can be extremely important.
Thankfully, WhatsApp provides a few different ways to recover and restore your chat data if it’s been deleted or lost. Here’s an overview of the various methods you can use to get your WhatsApp data back.
Restore from Google Drive Backup
The easiest way to restore deleted or lost WhatsApp data is to use your Google Drive backups. WhatsApp gives you the option to regularly back up your chats to Google Drive, which provides a safe off-device copy of your chat data that can be restored if needed.
To set up Google Drive backups for WhatsApp:
- Open WhatsApp and tap the three dot menu in the top right
- Go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup
- Tap “Backup to Google Drive” and select a backup frequency (like daily or weekly)
As long as you’ve previously enabled Google Drive backups, you can restore your chat history even if it’s been deleted from your phone’s local storage. Here’s how to restore chats from Google Drive backup:
- Reinstall WhatsApp and verify your number
- On the ‘Restore chats’ prompt, tap Restore to retrieve your chat history from Google Drive
One thing to note is that any chats or changes made after your last Drive backup was created will not be restored. But as long as you backup regularly, you should be able to recover most of your recent WhatsApp data this way.
Export Chat History to Email
If for some reason your Google Drive backups aren’t available, another way to retrieve your chat history is to export your chats to email prior to deleting your account:
- Open the WhatsApp chat you want to export
- Tap the More Options button (three dots in top right)
- Select More > Export Chat
- Select whether to export with or without media
- Enter your email address and tap Export
This will send you an email containing your exported chat history which you can use to restore your conversations. However, there are some downsides to this method:
- You can only export one chat at a time, so you’ll need to repeat this process for each conversation
- Only the last 40,000 messages for each chat can be exported
- If you have large media files like videos in your chats, email size restrictions may come into play
Overall, while chat export is better than nothing, it’s not a full replacement for a proper cloud backup.
Retrieve Deleted WhatsApp from Local Storage
Even if you’ve deleted your WhatsApp account or cleared app data, your chat history may still be recoverable from your phone’s local storage, as long as it hasn’t been overwritten by new data.
To attempt retrieving deleted WhatsApp data from local storage:
- Download and install a file recovery app on your phone (options like DiskDigger or EaseUS Recovery)
- Run the app and scan your phone’s storage
- The app will show recoverable files from previously deleted apps like WhatsApp
- Search through the WhatsApp folders and recover the DB file and media files
- Copy these files to a computer and use a desktop app like iMyFone D-Back to view chats and recover data
This method involves more work but can recover chats even without a backup. However, keep in mind that the longer you wait, the more likely your deleted WhatsApp data will be overwritten by new usage. So try this method as soon as possible after deletion.
Retrieve Data from Physical Device Backup
If you have a physical backup of your Android or iPhone storage – for example, from iTunes or certain types of phone cloning software – you may be able to find your deleted WhatsApp data within the backup.
To recover from a physical backup:
- Access the backup files from your computer
- Extract the WhatsApp folders, particularly the Databases folder
- Use D-Back or a similar desktop app to open the DB file and view chat history
- You can also extract media files to recover shared photos/videos
As long as your backup is relatively recent and complete, this provides another route to retrieve deleted chats from your local device storage. Just be sure to make new backups regularly in the future!
Retrieve Data from SD Card
If you store your WhatsApp media on an external SD card, even if you delete the app and chats from your phone, any media stored on the SD card will remain intact.
To recover WhatsApp media files from an SD card:
- Remove the SD card and insert it into a computer
- Browse to the WhatsApp/Media folder
- Copy the photos, videos, documents etc. to your computer
While you won’t get back deleted chats this way, it’s a good way to recover any media you may have shared on WhatsApp.
Retrieve Data via WhatsApp Support
In some cases, you may be able to enlist WhatsApp’s own customer support team to help recover lost data. Here are the key things to know about retrieving data via WhatsApp support:
- You’ll need to contact them within 30 days of deleting your account
- They can only restore account info and profiles, not actual chats
- Restored data may exclude some settings, groups, and contacts
- Requires confirming ownership of phone number via SMS code
While limited compared to the other DIY methods, WhatsApp support remains an option if you meet their criteria. Reach out to them via the in-app chat support or dedicated email address for deleted account recovery.
Use a WhatsApp Recovery App
As a last resort, you can try a dedicated WhatsApp recovery app to restore deleted chats and media. Examples include iMyFone D-Back and FonePaw WhatsApp Recovery.
These tools work by scanning your phone storage for recoverable WhatsApp file fragments. Depending on the app, they may be able to restore the following:
- Deleted and existing chats
- Profile information
- Call history
- Media files
However, the free versions of these apps typically have limited scanning capabilities. For best results, you’ll need to use the paid versions – so factor that additional cost in.
Prevent Future WhatsApp Data Loss
While the above methods can help you get back deleted WhatsApp data, prevention is the best policy when it comes to chat history you want to keep safe. Follow these proactive measures to avoid ever losing your WhatsApp information again:
- Always maintain regular Google Drive backups
- Occasionally export important chat histories via email
- Create local backups of WhatsApp media files on your computer
- Avoid clearing WhatsApp cache or app data unnecessarily
- Switch on chat backup encryption for added security
Making backups a habit will save you the headache of trying to recover lost WhatsApp data after the fact. Enable the necessary settings to automate it where possible.
Key Takeaways
Here are some key tips to recap on getting back your lost or deleted WhatsApp data:
- First, always restore chats from Google Drive backup if available
- Alternatively, use chat export, local file recovery, or physical device backups
- For media, retrieve files from SD card or device storage
- WhatsApp support has limited ability to restore some account info
- Paid recovery apps provide more comprehensive WhatsApp data restoration
- Make regular backups going forward to avoid being in this situation again
Losing your WhatsApp information can be stressful. But in most cases, with the right approach you can get your chats, media, and other data back. Just be sure to have robust backups in place for the future.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions about recovering lost WhatsApp data:
How far back can I restore WhatsApp chats from a Google Drive backup?
Google Drive can store up to your last 7 days of WhatsApp backups by default. You can extend this to up to 120 days of backup history by purchasing additional Google One storage.
Can I restore WhatsApp chats after factory resetting my phone?
If you factory reset your phone after creating a Google Drive backup, you can still restore your chats by signing into WhatsApp again post-reset and restoring from the backup.
Is WhatsApp chat backup encrypted?
Yes, WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption for chat backups stored on Google Drive. This helps keep your chat history secure.
Can I export WhatsApp chats from iPhone to Android?
While you can’t directly transfer chats between platforms, exporting iPhone WhatsApp chats by email will generate files that you can later import into Android WhatsApp by email as well.
How can I tell if my chats are backed up on Google Drive?
In WhatsApp, go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup to view the date/time of your latest Google Drive backup. If recent, your chats should be backed up.
Conclusion
Restoring lost WhatsApp data may seem daunting, but in most cases it’s achievable using backups, chat exports, local file recovery, SD card files, or dedicated recovery apps. Just be sure to regularly back up your chats and media to prevent a future data loss incident.