WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. It allows users to send messages, photos, videos, documents and make voice and video calls. However, sometimes users may accidentally delete important videos or media from WhatsApp that they wanted to keep.
If you have permanently deleted a video from WhatsApp that you now need to recover, there are a few different methods you can try. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk through all the possible ways to recover deleted WhatsApp videos, including from both iPhone and Android devices.
Can You Recover Permanently Deleted WhatsApp Videos?
When you delete a WhatsApp video, it is initially moved to the trash folder where it stays for 30 days. Within this period, you can restore the deleted videos from the trash back to your WhatsApp chat. However, after 30 days, the deleted videos are permanently erased from the WhatsApp server.
Once a video is permanently deleted from WhatsApp, it cannot be retrieved directly from the app anymore. However, that does not mean the videos are gone forever. The deleted videos may still be recoverable from your phone’s internal storage or backups as long as they have not been overwritten.
Recovering Deleted WhatsApp Videos from iPhone
From iCloud Backup
If you have iCloud backups enabled for WhatsApp, you may be able to recover deleted videos from there. Here are the steps:
- Go to Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups > WhatsApp
- Tap on the most recent backup and Restore to this backup
- After restoration completes, open WhatsApp and check if the deleted videos have reappeared in your chats
This method allows you to restore your entire WhatsApp backup from iCloud to your iPhone, recovering any deleted videos in the process.
From iTunes or Finder Backup
You can also restore deleted WhatsApp videos from an iTunes (Windows) or Finder (Mac) backup on your computer. Follow these steps:
- Connect your iPhone to your computer and open iTunes / Finder
- Select your device and go to Summary (iTunes) or General (Finder)
- Click Restore iPhone and select the backup you want to restore from
- After the restore finishes, your deleted WhatsApp videos will be recovered
This will restore your iPhone from the local backup stored on your computer, including any deleted WhatsApp videos.
Using Data Recovery Software
If you don’t have any backups, your last resort is to use data recovery software to scan your iPhone’s storage and extract the deleted videos. Some apps that can help recover deleted WhatsApp videos include:
- iMyFone D-Back – Recovers deleted WhatsApp videos and attachments from iPhone without backups.
- Fonelab – Retrieves deleted WhatsApp videos even if not backed up.
- EaseUS MobiSaver – Scans iPhone storage for residual files of deleted videos.
These data recovery apps dig deep into your iPhone’s memory to find traces of deleted WhatsApp videos that can still be restored. Just connect your iPhone, scan it, and recover the videos.
Recovering Deleted WhatsApp Videos from Android
From Google Drive Backup
If you have WhatsApp backups enabled in Google Drive, you can restore deleted videos from there by following these steps:
- Open WhatsApp > Tap Menu > Settings > Chats > Chat backup > Back Up
- Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp. Upon reinstalling, verify your number
- On the ‘Restore’ prompt, tap Restore to restore your chats and media from Google Drive
- The deleted videos will be back in your WhatsApp chats
This restores your most recent Google Drive backup to WhatsApp, which includes any videos you might have deleted.
From Local Backup
You can also restore deleted WhatsApp videos from a local backup stored on your Android device’s internal storage or SD card:
- Install WhatsApp again on your phone & verify your number
- When prompted to restore chats, select ‘Restore from backup’
- Select the appropriate backup that contains your deleted videos
- The deleted media will be restored from this local backup
Using Data Recovery Apps
Finally, you can use Android data recovery apps to extract deleted WhatsApp files from your phone’s internal memory without any backups. Some good options include:
- iMyFone D-Back – Recovers deleted WhatsApp videos, photos, audio files, and documents from Android.
- FoneDog Toolkit – Retrieves erased media files from WhatsApp on Android phones & SD card.
- Tenorshare UltData – Recovers all kinds of lost and deleted WhatsApp data from Android.
These apps scan your phone’s storage and memory for residual files left by deleted WhatsApp videos which can then be restored.
Tips to Prevent Accidental Deletion of WhatsApp Videos
To avoid having to recover deleted videos from WhatsApp again, here are some useful tips:
- Enable auto backup to Google Drive or iCloud so you have backups ready in case of deletion.
- Export important WhatsApp videos to your device gallery or a safe storage location.
- Be careful when selecting videos to delete and check twice before confirming deletion.
- Make periodic manual backups of WhatsApp to your computer or other external storage.
- Install a file manager app that has a recycle bin to recover deleted files.
Conclusion
While accidentally deleted WhatsApp videos can be stressful, fortunately there are several effective methods to recover them. For iPhone users, you can restore from an iCloud or iTunes backup, while Android users can retrieve the videos from Google Drive or a local data backup. If you don’t have any backups, data recovery software for both iPhone and Android can rescue the deleted videos.
Following some cautionary measures like regular backups and exports can also help avoid permanent data loss. We hope this guide gives you all the necessary techniques to get back your deleted WhatsApp videos.