Losing important WhatsApp images, videos, chats, and other data can be devastating, especially if you do not have a recent backup. Unfortunately, when you uninstall WhatsApp without backing up your data first, it may seem that your data is gone forever.
The good news is there are still some ways you can try to recover your lost WhatsApp media and messages, even without a backup.
Can You Recover WhatsApp Data After Uninstalling Without Backup?
When you uninstall WhatsApp without backing up your data first, the app erases all of your local WhatsApp data from your device. This includes your messages, media files, and other information stored in the app’s databases on your phone or tablet.
However, even after uninstalling, some WhatsApp data may still remain on your device’s internal storage or external SD card until it gets overwritten by new data. So if you act quickly, it’s possible to recover at least some lost WhatsApp data using data recovery apps or methods.
Where Does WhatsApp Store Data on Android and iOS Devices?
To understand how to recover lost WhatsApp data after uninstalling the app, it helps to know where WhatsApp stores different types of data on smartphones:
- WhatsApp media (photos, videos, audio files, documents): stored in internal phone storage or external SD card in WhatsApp/Media folder.
- WhatsApp databases: stored in phone internal storage in db folder, contains messages, contacts, chat history.
- WhatsApp settings and preferences: stored in phone internal storage in shared_prefs folder.
On iOS devices, WhatsApp data is stored in a sandboxed container folder that is tied to the app. Uninstalling WhatsApp deletes this container and Makes recovery difficult.
On Android however, recovering some lost files may be possible if the data is still on the device and hasn’t been overwritten.
Can I Recover from Google Drive or iCloud Backup?
If you had previously set up Google Drive or iCloud backup for WhatsApp, you may be able to restore some data from the cloud backup.
Restore from Google Drive Backup
If you had enabled Google Drive backup in WhatsApp prior to uninstalling:
- Reinstall WhatsApp on your Android device
- Verify your phone number in WhatsApp
- On the Restore page, tap “Restore” to restore chats and media from Google Drive backup
This will restore your available WhatsApp chats and media files from the last Google Drive backup.
Restore from iCloud Backup
For iOS devices, if you had iCloud backup enabled for WhatsApp:
- Reinstall WhatsApp on your iPhone
- Verify your phone number in WhatsApp
- Tap “Restore” when prompted to restore latest iCloud backup
- Alternatively, you can restore WhatsApp data from iCloud via iPhone Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups > WhatsApp
This will restore the latest WhatsApp data from your iCloud backup to your device.
How to Recover WhatsApp Data Without Backup
If you did not have Google Drive or iCloud backup enabled, or you need to restore older lost WhatsApp data that’s not in your last backup, your options are more limited. However, here are some methods you can try to recover WhatsApp data after uninstalling the app without a backup.
1. Recover from Local iTunes or iCloud Backup
If you sync your iPhone locally with iTunes on a computer, or have older device backups in iCloud, you may be able to restore WhatsApp data from a local iTunes or iCloud backup:
- For a local iTunes backup, connect your iPhone to the computer, launch iTunes and restore from a locally saved backup.
- For an iCloud backup, login to icloud.com, go to Settings > Restore Data > select desired backup to restore.
This will rollback your device and WhatsApp data to the state of the local iTunes or old iCloud backup you restore.
2. Use Data Recovery Software
Data recovery apps may be able to scan your phone’s storage and restore some lost WhatsApp files. For Android, try apps like Dr.Fone, EaseUS MobiSaver, iSkysoft Toolbox. For iPhone, try PhoneRescue, iMyFone D-Back, EaseUS MobiSaver.
These tools can restore various data types like WhatsApp messages, contacts, photos, videos, and database files from internal storage, SD card, or iTunes backup.
3. Retrieve from Phone Internal Storage
On Android devices, you can browse internal phone storage and SD card directly via phone Settings or a file manager app, to see if you can find any leftover WhatsApp media files and databases in the WhatsApp folders.
On iPhone, due to app sandboxing you won’t be able to directly access WhatsApp’s data folders. But data recovery apps may be able to retrieve files from the raw storage.
4. Look for Backups in Phone Storage
Some Android tools like Google Drive allow users to download backups locally to phone storage. Check if you have any WhatsApp backup files saved on your device’s internal storage or SD card that you can restore.
5. Contact WhatsApp for Help
In some cases, especially for critical lost data, you can contact WhatsApp Support for help recovering your data. Be prepared to provide details like your phone number, when you last accessed WhatsApp, and what data you need recovered.
WhatsApp may be able to assist in recovering your account information or messaging you backup authentication codes to restore a cloud backup. However, direct data recovery assistance is limited.
Tips to Avoid Losing WhatsApp Data
To avoid a data loss situation in the future, make sure to regularly back up your WhatsApp data and enable auto-backup options:
- Enable Google Drive backup in WhatsApp settings on Android
- Enable iCloud backup for WhatsApp chats on iOS devices
- Manually back up WhatsApp data to computer or external storage
- Export important WhatsApp chats to email, Google Drive, or other apps
- Save important WhatsApp media files to your phone gallery
Additionally, be very careful when uninstalling apps like WhatsApp, and only do so after backing up your data.
Conclusion
Losing WhatsApp data by uninstalling the app without a backup can be devastating. While recovering all lost data is unlikely, it may be possible to retrieve some WhatsApp media files and messages with data recovery apps, cloud backups, phone storage access on Android, or help from WhatsApp Support if you act quickly.
In the future, make sure to always backup your WhatsApp data regularly before making major changes like uninstalling the app to avoid permanent data loss.