WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. It’s easy to have hundreds of conversations going at once. While it’s great to stay connected, too many active chats can feel overwhelming. Thankfully, WhatsApp lets you archive conversations to get them out of the way without deleting valuable messages.
Quick Answers
Here are quick answers to common questions about archiving WhatsApp chats:
- Archiving removes a chat from your main chat list, but it remains on your phone.
- Archived messages are still accessible – just tap the Archived chats tab.
- You can archive both individual and group chats.
- Archiving is not the same as deleting – your messages remain available.
- Archived chats will stay archived even if new messages come in.
Benefits of Archiving
Archiving conversations on WhatsApp has several advantages:
- De-clutter your inbox – Get rid of conversations you don’t need cluttering up your main chat screen.
- Focus on important chats – Keep priority conversations easily accessible while archiving less important ones.
- Organize by topic – Archive related chats together like work or family to stay organized.
- Save old memories – Preserve meaningful chats you want to keep without them getting in the way.
- Free up space – Archived media won’t show up in your phone’s storage as taking space.
How to Archive a Chat
Archiving a chat is simple on both Android and iPhone devices. Here are the steps:
On Android
- Open the WhatsApp app and go to your Chats tab.
- Press and hold the chat you want to archive.
- Tap the archive icon at the top of the screen. It looks like a small box with a downward arrow.
- The chat will now be removed from your main view and archived.
On iPhone
- Open WhatsApp and go to the Chats tab.
- Swipe left on the chat you want to archive.
- Tap the Archive button that appears.
- The chat will disappear from your chat list and be archived.
It only takes a couple of taps to archive a chat on either platform. You can archive multiple conversations at once by long pressing to select several chats before tapping the archive icon.
How to View Archived Chats
Archiving a conversation removes it from your main chat list, but it’s still easy to access when needed:
- On Android, tap the three-dot menu button at the top and select Archived chats.
- On iPhone, swipe right from the left edge of the Chats tab to open a menu. Tap Archived.
This will display your full list of archived conversations. Tap any chat to open it and view all the messages normally. You can also unarchive a chat from here by tapping Unarchive.
Important Points About Archived Chats
Here are some key things to keep in mind about archiving WhatsApp conversations:
- Archived chats will remain archived even if new messages come in. You won’t be notified of any new activity.
- Media and attachments sent in archived chats won’t appear in your phone’s gallery or take up space.
- You can mute notifications from an archived chat so you won’t hear any sounds.
- If you delete a chat, it will be gone forever. Archiving is safer for preserving messages.
- Archived messages are encrypted and can’t be accessed by anyone else.
Should You Delete or Archive Chats?
So should you be deleting or archiving your WhatsApp conversations? Here’s a comparison:
| Delete | Archive |
|---|---|
| Removes chat permanently | Keeps chat hidden but accessible |
| Can’t recover deleted messages | Messages remain available if needed |
| Frees up more storage space | Doesn’t free up space from media |
| Use for unimportant chats | Use for important chats you want to keep |
In most cases, archiving is safer than deleting. You should only delete conversations that you’re absolutely sure you no longer need. Archiving lets you access old messages in the future if needed.
Can You Recover Archived Chats?
If you accidentally archived a chat you wanted to keep unarchived, it’s easy to recover:
- Go to your Archived chats list and locate the conversation.
- Tap and hold the chat until a menu pops up.
- Select Unarchive to move the chat back to your main view.
You can unarchive chats at any time. Your messages in archived chats are always preserved unless you delete the chat entirely. Accidentally archiving a conversation won’t cause you to lose it or its messages.
Archiving on WhatsApp Web/Desktop
In addition to mobile, you can archive chats on the WhatsApp desktop app and WhatsApp Web accessed through a browser. The process is the same:
- Right-click a chat and choose Archive to remove it from the main view.
- See your archived chats by clicking the Archived Chats tab on the left sidebar.
- Unarchive any chat by right-clicking it and choosing Unarchive.
Your archived chats will sync across mobile and desktop, so you can archive on one device and view the change on another linked device.
Backing Up Archived Chats
To ensure you have a backup of your archived WhatsApp messages, you should regularly back up your chats to cloud storage or locally to your computer. Here are tips for backing up archived chats:
- Enable WhatsApp’s built-in Google Drive backup option in Settings.
- Use a third-party cloud service like iCloud or Dropbox to export and store chat history.
- Save your chat history files locally to your computer through WhatsApp’s export feature.
- Back up archived media by saving photos and videos to your device storage.
As long as you routinely back up your WhatsApp data, you can safely archive old chats without worrying about losing them if anything happens to your phone.
Clearing Space by Archiving
Since archived media is hidden from your phone’s storage, archiving chats with lots of photos, videos, documents, and audio files can help clear up space. Here are some tips for freeing up space with archiving:
- Archive chats with the most media attachments first.
- Remember to back up media before archiving if needed.
- Check your storage usage after archiving to confirm freed up space.
- Delete very large files and media from chats before archiving.
- Offload unused apps and files as well to maximize space.
Archiving alone may not completely solve storage issues depending on your usage, but it can contribute significantly to clearing space on your device.
Conclusion
Archiving chats is an easy way to organize your WhatsApp inbox and keep important conversations hidden but still accessible. Make sure to archive chats instead of deleting if you want to preserve the content. Back up your archived chats regularly so you never lose invaluable memories and information.
With WhatsApp’s archiving abilities, you can keep just the conversations you really need at the moment visible while safely tucking away the rest. Your inbox will be cleaner and you’ll never have to worry about losing old messages and media again.