WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps with over 2 billion users worldwide. It allows us to easily communicate with friends, family, coworkers and more through text, voice messages, video calls and more. With so much important information stored in WhatsApp, it’s crucial to regularly backup your WhatsApp data so it’s not lost if you lose your phone or switch devices.
Why is backing up WhatsApp data important?
There are a few key reasons why it’s important to backup your WhatsApp data regularly:
- Preserve your messages, media, and other data – Backups save all your WhatsApp information including text messages, photos, videos, voice messages, call logs and more. Without a backup, all this information could be lost forever if your phone is damaged, lost or stolen.
- Seamlessly switch devices – Backups make it easy to restore your WhatsApp info when you get a new phone number, switch operating systems (iOS to Android or vice versa) or get a new device. This lets you keep your full WhatsApp chat history when changing phones.
- Recover from accidental data loss – Accidents happen and sometimes WhatsApp data gets deleted inadvertently. Regular backups give you a safety net to restore deleted WhatsApp data if needed.
- Protect against app bugs or crashes – Bugs in the WhatsApp app may sometimes lead to data loss or app crashes. Backups can help restore your data if WhatsApp malfunctions.
In summary, backing up your WhatsApp lets you avoid losing precious memories and conversations. It gives you peace of mind that your data is safe no matter what happens to your phone.
How often should you backup WhatsApp?
WhatsApp has an auto backup feature that saves your data at preset intervals, such as daily, weekly or monthly. However, it’s still recommended to manually backup WhatsApp regularly as an extra precaution. Here are some general guidelines on how often to backup WhatsApp data:
- When switching phones – Always backup before moving your WhatsApp account from one device to another. This ensures you transfer your full chat history.
- After major app updates – Major WhatsApp updates can sometimes cause issues. Backing up right after an update protects your data.
- Once a month – Backup at least monthly as a safeguard against data loss from app crashes, phone issues, etc.
- Before traveling – Back up before a trip in case your phone is lost or stolen while traveling.
- When phone storage is full – WhatsApp may malfunction or freeze if your phone storage fills up. Backup to free space.
- Anytime new important data is added – Make extra backups after adding important new conversations, photos, videos or voice messages.
Following these backup best practices helps provide an extra layer of protection for your irreplaceable WhatsApp data.
How to backup WhatsApp on Android
There are two main methods to backup WhatsApp on Android devices – using Google Drive backup or a local backup:
Google Drive backup
This method saves your WhatsApp data to your linked Google account:
- Open WhatsApp and tap the More options (three vertical dots) menu.
- Go to Settings > Chats > Chat backup.
- Tap Backup to Google Drive and select a backup frequency (e.g. daily, weekly).
- Tap Account and select the Google account you want to backup to.
- Enable the backup option.
- Tap Back Up to manually trigger an instant backup.
The main advantage of Google Drive backup is it’s done automatically in the background after initial setup. A downside is your WhatsApp data will count towards your Google Drive storage quota.
Local backup
You can also backup WhatsApp to local storage on your Android device:
- Open WhatsApp and tap More options > Settings > Chats > Chat backup.
- Tap Back up to local storage.
- Tap Back up now to manually backup your data.
- Choose where to save the backup file on your phone’s local storage.
- Tap BACK UP to confirm and start the backup process.
Local backups give you full control over the backup location and don’t count against cloud storage limits. However, the backup file is only stored on that device and could be lost if your phone is damaged or lost.
How to backup WhatsApp on iPhone
On iOS devices, WhatsApp utilizes iCloud to seamlessly backup your data.
To enable WhatsApp backups to iCloud:
- Go to iOS Settings > tap your name at the top.
- Tap iCloud.
- Make sure iCloud Backup is toggled on.
- Scroll down and tap WhatsApp under Apps Using iCloud.
- Activate the Use iCloud Backup toggle.
- Tap Back Up Now to manually trigger an instant WhatsApp backup.
WhatsApp data will now be included in your regular iCloud backups whenever they occur (daily or when manually triggered). Just make sure you have sufficient iCloud storage space.
How to restore WhatsApp backup
If you ever need to restore your backed up WhatsApp data, follow these steps:
Android
If backed up to Google Drive:
- Install and open WhatsApp on your new Android device.
- Enter your phone number when prompted.
- WhatsApp will detect a previous backup for your number and prompt you to restore.
- Tap Restore to retrieve your chats, media and settings from Google Drive.
For local backup restore:
- Copy the WhatsApp backup file from your old device to the new device.
- Open WhatsApp and complete the initial setup for your number.
- Go to More options > Settings > Chats > Chat backup.
- Tap Restore > Restore from local backup and select the backup file.
iPhone
When switching to a new iPhone, install WhatsApp from the App Store and enter your number when prompted. WhatsApp will automatically restore your most recent iCloud backup containing your chats.
You can also manually restore an iCloud WhatsApp backup by going to iOS Settings > Your name > iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups > Choose your device backup > WhatsApp.
How to transfer WhatsApp data to a new phone
When moving your WhatsApp account to a new phone number entirely, you’ll need to transfer your local WhatsApp data from your old phone to your new phone.
For Android
- Back up your WhatsApp data on your old Android phone to local storage.
- Copy the WhatsApp backup file from your old phone to your computer.
- Install WhatsApp on your new Android phone and verify your new number.
- On the new phone copy the backup file from your computer to the WhatsApp/Backups folder.
- Open WhatsApp and tap Restore to restore your chats and data.
For iPhone
- Backup your WhatsApp data from your old iPhone to iCloud.
- Install WhatsApp on your new iPhone and enter your new number.
- On the new iPhone, go to Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups > Choose your old iPhone backup > WhatsApp to download your previous WhatsApp data from iCloud.
- Open WhatsApp, which will now restore your previous chats and media from iCloud.
This will successfully move your WhatsApp account and data to your new phone number.
How to backup WhatsApp without Google Drive or iCloud
If you don’t want to use Google Drive or iCloud, there are other ways to backup WhatsApp:
- Local Storage – Manually backup WhatsApp data to your device’s local storage as described above. You’ll have to transfer this file when changing devices.
- PC/Mac – Install WhatsApp desktop app to backup chats to your computer. Note audio, videos and media won’t backup.
- Third-party apps – Apps like iCareFone can backup WhatsApp to your computer or extract WhatsApp data for backup.
- Email chat history – Email chat history to yourself or export using apps like Backuptrans Android WhatsApp Transfer.
However, local device storage, computer or third-party backups don’t automatically sync or restore across devices like iCloud and Google Drive.
WhatsApp backup files explained
WhatsApp stores backup data in encrypted file formats for security and privacy reasons. Here are some key details about WhatsApp backup files:
- Android – Backups are stored as encrypted .crypt files, e.g. msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.crypt. They contain a complete history of your chats, media, settings etc.
- iPhone – On iOS, WhatsApp data is included in your overall iCloud backup. There’s no separate WhatsApp backup file.
- PC – WhatsApp desktop app stores data in an encrypted SQLite database file.
- Google Drive – The crypt backup files are uploaded and stored in your Google Drive in a WhatsApp folder.
- Local – Locally saved crypt backups are stored in device internal storage or SD card in WhatsApp/Backups folder.
Understanding the WhatsApp backup file types and locations helps troubleshoot any backup issues.
Important WhatsApp data that isn’t backed up
While WhatsApp backups are quite comprehensive, there is some data that isn’t saved:
- Call history – WhatsApp call history isn’t included in backups.
- Linked accounts – Linked accounts like WhatsApp Business need to be relinked after restoring.
- Read/Unread status – Message read status isn’t saved in backups. All restored chats show as unread.
- Frequently forwarded media – Media marked as frequently forwarded isn’t backed up.
- Location media – Location data for shared media isn’t retained in backups.
So you may need to manually record or export the above WhatsApp data separately if you need to preserve it when moving between devices.
Troubleshooting WhatsApp backup problems
Here are some common WhatsApp backup issues and fixes:
Backup not working
- Ensure you’re signed in to Google Drive or iCloud and have enough storage space.
- Check your internet connection is working properly.
- Force close and restart WhatsApp.
- Clear cache and data for WhatsApp then setup backup again.
- Update to latest WhatsApp version.
- Restart your phone.
Message history not restoring
- WhatsApp may restore only the most recent backup. Check backup dates.
- Make sure you’re restoring from the correct backup source.
- Some old messages may not be included in backup due to file size restrictions.
- Media files may restore slower than text messages.
Can’t find backup file
- On Android, backups are saved in device internal storage or SD card in WhatsApp/Backups folder.
- On iPhone, WhatsApp data is included in overall iCloud backups.
- Check Google Drive WhatsApp folder for cloud-saved backups.
Large backups failing
- WhatsApp has a backup size limit of 2GB on Android. Prune older chats and media to reduce backup size.
- For iCloud, purchase more storage if you exceed your available space.
- Use WiFi instead of mobile data for large backups.
Following this WhatsApp troubleshooting guide should help resolve most common backup issues.
Conclusion
Regularly backing up your WhatsApp chats, media and data is crucial to avoid permanently losing your precious memories and conversations stored in the app. Thankfully WhatsApp makes it easy to schedule automated backups to Google Drive or iCloud.
It’s just important to manually trigger backups before making major changes like switching phones or reinstalling WhatsApp. Restoring from backup is also a straightforward process.
While backing up WhatsApp requires minimal effort, it provides great peace of mind that your data is safe. So be sure to implement a consistent backup plan for your irreplaceable WhatsApp content.