Backing up your WhatsApp messages is important to ensure you don’t lose any of your conversations, media, and other data if you ever need to restore or transfer your account to a new device. Thankfully, backing up WhatsApp on an iPhone X is quick and easy.
How does WhatsApp backup work?
WhatsApp uses iCloud or Google Drive to store your backup data. Every day at 2 AM, WhatsApp will automatically backup your most recent conversations, photos, videos, voice messages, etc. Anything you don’t delete on WhatsApp will eventually be included in the backup.
Your WhatsApp backup data does not count against your iCloud storage quota. The max backup size is currently 2GB on iOS devices. Anything beyond that size will not be backed up.
Where is my WhatsApp backup stored?
On an iPhone X, your WhatsApp backups are saved to iCloud by default. You can verify this by going to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups.
You’ll see a list of apps that store backup data in iCloud, including WhatsApp if you have backups enabled.
How to backup WhatsApp messages on iPhone X
If you want to manually trigger a WhatsApp backup on your iPhone X, follow these steps:
- Open WhatsApp
- Go to Settings
- Tap Chats > Chat Backup
- Tap Back Up Now
This will immediately perform a backup of your WhatsApp data to iCloud. The last backup date and time will be displayed under “Last Backup.”
Enable auto backup
To make sure your WhatsApp chats are always backed up, you need to enable auto backup:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup
- Turn on Auto Backup
This ensures your backup happens daily at 2 AM without you having to think about it. As long as you have an active internet connection, your latest WhatsApp data will be secured in iCloud.
Backup WhatsApp to Google Drive
While iCloud is the default backup option, you can switch to using Google Drive for your WhatsApp backups. Here’s how to link your Google account:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup
- Tap Backup to Google Drive
- Tap Account and select the Google account you want to use
- Tap Back Up
Your WhatsApp data will now backup to your linked Google Drive storage. You can revert this at any time by tapping “Backup to iCloud” in WhatsApp settings.
Exclude large videos from backup
To save storage space, you may want to exclude large videos from your WhatsApp backup. You can do this in Settings:
- Go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup
- Turn off Backup Video
This will prevent any videos in your WhatsApp chats from being included in the backup. Other media like photos will still be backed up.
Restore WhatsApp backup on iPhone X
If you ever lose your iPhone X or switch to a new device, you can restore your WhatsApp backup during setup. Here’s how:
- Install WhatsApp on your new device
- Open WhatsApp and verify your phone number
- On the Backup found screen, tap Restore to retrieve your chats and media from iCloud.
This will restore your most recent WhatsApp backup so you don’t lose any messages or data.
Change WhatsApp backup frequency
By default, WhatsApp performs daily backups at 2 AM. You can change how often backups occur in Settings:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup
- Tap Backup Frequency
- Choose between Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Never
Setting more frequent backups gives you more protection against lost data, but consumes more storage space. The ideal setting depends on your usage and priorities.
Delete WhatsApp backups
If you’d like to delete old WhatsApp backups to free up space in iCloud or Google Drive, you can do that right from your iPhone X:
- Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups
- Tap on WhatsApp
- Tap Delete Backup
This will permanently erase all WhatsApp backups for your account. You can then start fresh with a new backup.
Troubleshooting WhatsApp backups
Here are some common issues you may encounter with WhatsApp backups and how to fix them:
Backups not working
If your WhatsApp backups are not working properly, first make sure you’re connected to the internet and background app refreshing is enabled in Settings > General. Re-enable auto backups in WhatsApp settings.
Backups using too much storage
Exclude large videos from your backup to save storage space. You can also lower the backup frequency to weekly or monthly.
Can’t verify phone number
You may need to re-register your phone number with WhatsApp. Open WhatsApp, go to Settings > Account > Delete My Account. Then reinstall WhatsApp and re-verify your number.
WhatsApp backup size limit
Currently, WhatsApp backups are limited to 2GB in size on iOS devices. Anything beyond 2GB will not be included in the backup. Here are some tips to reduce your backup size:
- Exclude videos from backup
- Delete large media/documents you no longer need
- Use a third-party app to export chat history
- Lower the backup frequency to monthly
WhatsApp may increase the backup limit in the future, but 2GB is the maximum for now on an iPhone X.
Alternative WhatsApp backup tools
Aside from the built-in WhatsApp backup feature, there are some third-party apps you can use to backup your WhatsApp data:
iMazing
iMazing lets you securely backup WhatsApp to your computer. It can backup specific chats and media.
Dr.Fone
Dr.Fone toolkit allows you to backup WhatsApp to your computer and restore to any device. Provides preview of your chats.
iCareFone
iCareFone can backup WhatsApp chats, history, videos, photos and voice messages to PC. Easy to use interface.
Syncios
Syncios offers backup of WhatsApp messages and attachments to PC. Allows merging multiple backups.
These tools give you more flexibility for backing up your WhatsApp data outside of iCloud or Google Drive.
Summary of key points
- WhatsApp automatically backs up daily to iCloud.
- You can trigger manual backups or change the backup frequency.
- Exclude large videos to save backup storage space.
- Restore backups when switching devices or reinstalling WhatsApp.
- Make sure auto backup is enabled in WhatsApp settings.
- Backups are limited to 2GB on iOS devices.
- Third-party apps provide alternative backup options.
Conclusion
Keeping regular WhatsApp backups is crucial to avoid losing your conversations, photos, videos, and other data. On an iPhone X, enabling WhatsApp’s built-in iCloud backup feature is the easiest way to securely backup your chats.
Adjust the settings to suit your needs for backup frequency, video exclusion, and storage limits. Be sure to back up before resetting your iPhone or transferring to a new device. With proper backups enabled, you can always restore your WhatsApp data and pick up right where you left off.