WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. One of the things that makes WhatsApp so convenient is that all your messages are stored in the app, so you can go back and view past conversations.
But how long are WhatsApp messages actually kept for before they are deleted? In this article, we’ll look at how message retention works on WhatsApp and the key factors that determine how long your messages are stored.
WhatsApp’s Default Message Retention Policy
By default, WhatsApp retains your messages on its servers after they are delivered to the recipient’s phone.
This means your sent and received messages are stored on WhatsApp’s servers even after you and the recipients have read them. The messages remain on the servers until they are deleted by you or the recipient.
WhatsApp does not delete or remove any messages from its servers by default. The app simply stores all messages indefinitely unless a user specifically deletes them.
When Do WhatsApp Messages Get Deleted?
There are a few scenarios where WhatsApp messages will get automatically deleted from the app’s servers:
1. When you or the recipient deletes the message
The most straightforward way messages are removed from WhatsApp is when you or the person you’re chatting with deletes them. This removes the message from your devices as well as WhatsApp’s servers.
When you delete a message, it is deleted for you. But the recipient can still see it in the chat until they also delete it from their device. Once both parties have deleted the message, it is permanently deleted from WhatsApp.
2. When you or the recipient deletes the chat
Deleting an entire chat thread will delete all messages included in that chat. This removes the messages from your devices and WhatsApp’s servers.
As with deleting individual messages, other recipients will still have access to the messages until they also delete the chat from their device.
3. When your account is deleted
Deleting your WhatsApp account will erase all your messages across all chats from WhatsApp’s servers. This permanently deletes your message history from WhatsApp.
However, messages you sent to other users will still be visible on their accounts until they also delete them individually or delete their account.
4. When your phone is inactive for prolonged periods
WhatsApp has an inactivity policy where it will delete your account – and with it all your messages – if your phone remains inactive for 120 consecutive days:
- No user activity (sending or reading messages)
- No connection between WhatsApp and your phone’s servers
This is mainly designed to free up unused account names on WhatsApp. But it means you can permanently lose message history if you don’t use WhatsApp for extended periods.
How Long Are Messages Kept Before Being Deleted?
Since WhatsApp doesn’t automatically delete messages after a set amount of time, how long they are retained depends on user activity.
As long as you are actively using your WhatsApp account, your message history will be preserved indefinitely. Messages are only deleted when:
- You manually delete messages or chats
- Your recipient manually deletes messages or chats
- Your account is deleted by you or due to inactivity
So the duration could be:
- Hours or days if you frequently prune your message history
- Weeks or months if you occasionally clear out old chats
- Years if you never manually delete messages
Without user intervention, WhatsApp retains messages as long as your account remains active. The only automatic deletion is due to account inactivity after 120 days.
Does WhatsApp Have a Retention Policy?
WhatsApp does not have a fixed retention policy like some other messaging apps. Platforms like Telegram and Signal apply automatic expiration time limits for messages.
For example, Telegram offers options like self-destructing messages that get deleted automatically after 24 hours or 7 days. WhatsApp has no such built-in retention controls.
The closest WhatsApp comes to a deletion policy is its 120-day inactivity rule. Apart from that, it gives users complete control over how long messages are retained.
Can Deleted WhatsApp Messages Be Recovered?
Once deleted from WhatsApp’s servers, messages are permanently erased and cannot be retrieved. However, there are a couple of ways you may be able to recover deleted messages before they are removed from WhatsApp’s servers:
Restore from Local Backup
WhatsApp automatically backs up your message history on a regular basis to your phone’s local storage or Google Drive. If you have enabled backups, you can restore deleted messages by reverting to an earlier backup.
However, this will only work for messages deleted in the past 24 hours to 1 month, depending on your backup frequency.
Use Third-party Tools
Some third-party apps claim to be able to recover deleted WhatsApp messages from your phone’s local storage. However, this is not always reliable and typically only works if you act quickly before the files are overwritten.
Overall, once a WhatsApp message is deleted from their servers, there is no way to retrieve it. Avoiding permanent deletion requires regularly backing up your messages externally.
How To Increase WhatsApp Message Retention
If you want to preserve your WhatsApp message history for longer periods, there are a few things you can do:
- Disable auto-backup to avoid old messages being overwritten
- Export chat history to store externally (requires 3rd party apps)
- Avoid deleting messages and chats unless necessary
- Save important media files (photos, videos) to your camera roll
- Use a secondary messaging app for conversations you want to delete
While inconvenient, avoiding all message deletions is the only way to ensure indefinite retention on WhatsApp’s servers.
Using external backup tools is recommended to create archived records of your message history.
Does WhatsApp Comply With Data Retention Laws?
In most countries, WhatsApp complies with local data protection and retention laws by storing user information only as long as necessary to operate their service.
For example, in Europe WhatsApp follows data retention periods outlined in the GDPR. They store the majority of user data and messages only until it is no longer needed for service operation.
However, WhatsApp may retain certain usage data for longer periods if required by law. For example, to comply with national security and law enforcement regulations.
Overall, WhatsApp aims to store user messages only as long as users want them kept for functional purposes. They claim to delete accounts and messages promptly upon request.
Can WhatsApp Messages Be Archived for Long-Term Storage?
Since WhatsApp messages are intended for instant messaging purposes, the app itself does not provide long-term archival solutions.
However, users can utilize third-party tools and workarounds to archive WhatsApp messages beyond the app’s retention settings:
– Copy & paste message content into external documents
– Use apps to export full message history to document files
– Take screenshots of important messages for photo storage
– Enable regular automated backups to services like Google Drive
– Transcribe voice messages into text transcripts
– Develop custom scripts to archive large chat logs automatically
With extra effort, users can retain their WhatsApp communication history in external archives. This provides a way to preserve important conversations beyond WhatsApp’s limited native retention capabilities.
Conclusion
WhatsApp tends to retain user messages indefinitely or until explicitly deleted by users. The app does not apply any automatic expiration or retention limits.
Messages are only erased when users delete them manually, deactivate accounts, or become inactive for 120+ days. Otherwise, WhatsApp stores all chat history on its servers with no cutoff date.
To prevent accidental data loss, users are advised to frequently back up their message archives externally. While inconvenient, avoiding all message deletion is the only way to ensure permanent retention on WhatsApp’s servers.