WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. One of the handy features it offers is the ability to backup your chat history to Google Drive. This lets you restore your chats if you ever switch phones or lose your device. However, it raises the natural question – is this backup to Google Drive secure? Let’s take a deeper look.
How WhatsApp Backup to Google Drive Works
WhatsApp gives you the option to backup your chat history to Google Drive on Android devices. Here is a quick rundown of how it works:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
- Tap “Backup to Google Drive” and select a backup frequency – daily, weekly or monthly.
- On the next backup, WhatsApp will upload a copy of your chat database and media files to your Google Drive account.
- Your chat history data will appear in a folder called WhatsApp under Google Drive. This includes database files and media folders.
- To restore from Google Drive, uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp. On setup, it will prompt you to restore chats and media from the backup.
So in a nutshell, WhatsApp takes a copy of your chats and stores it encrypted on Google Drive. You can access this backup to recover your chat history if needed.
Is WhatsApp Backup to Google Drive Secure?
Now let’s address the main question – how secure is this backup? Here are a few key factors to consider:
Encryption
WhatsApp encrypts your chat database and media files before uploading to Google Drive. This means the backup data is unreadable to anyone except you. Not even WhatsApp or Google can access the actual chat content in the backup.
Here’s how WhatsApp implements encryption for Google Drive backups:
- Your chat database is encrypted using a unique encryption key generated on your device.
- Media files like photos and videos are encrypted individually.
- The encryption keys are stored on your device and associated with your Google account.
- Without these keys, the backup files remain encrypted and unreadable.
So your actual chat content remains private and secured with end-to-end encryption.
Private Google Drive
Your WhatsApp backup is stored in your personal Google Drive account. It is not shared with anyone else by default. So the backup remains private to your Google account.
However, if you allow sharing for the WhatsApp folder on Drive, then anyone you grant access to can view your backup files. They won’t be able to read chat contents thanks to encryption, but can see filenames or metadata.
Accessibility of Media
While your chat database is encrypted, any media you backup – photos, videos, voice messages, documents etc. – can be accessed by Google. That’s because WhatsApp cannot encrypt or control access to this third-party content from Google Drive.
So if you share very private media on WhatsApp, it may be wise not to backup such content to Google servers. Or you can choose to exclude media from your backups.
Account Safety
To set up backup and restore your chats, you need to enter your Google account credentials on WhatsApp. This means you need to ensure your Google account is safe and well protected:
- Use a strong and unique password for your Google account.
- Enable two-factor authentication for additional security.
- Check for any suspicious activity in your account and security alerts.
- Revoke account access from unknown devices if discovered.
With a compromised Google account, someone could potentially restore your WhatsApp backup on a new device and access your chat history.
How to Make Your WhatsApp Backup More Secure
While WhatsApp backup to Google Drive is reasonably secure, here are some additional steps you can take to enhance privacy and security:
Set Chat Backup Password
For an extra layer of security, you can set a password for your WhatsApp backup. Then no one can access your Google Drive backup and restore chats without entering this password. Here’s how to set it up:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
- Tap Backup Encryption > Create Password.
- Enter a new password and confirm.
- Make sure to remember this password as you’ll need it when restoring backup.
Exclude Sensitive Chats
You can selectively exclude certain sensitive or private chats from Google Drive backup. This prevents such messages from ever leaving your device.
To exclude a chat:
- Open the individual chat.
- Tap More Options > More > Export Chat.
- Toggle off ‘Include Media’ to exclude any shared files in the chat.
Disable Media Backup
As mentioned earlier, any media you backup to Google Drive can be accessed by Google. To prevent backing up your WhatsApp media files:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
- Disable the option for Media Auto Download.
This will still backup your chat database for text messages while excluding photos, videos and other files.
Use Local Backup
You can opt to take local backups to your device storage rather than backing up to Google Drive. The backup remains encrypted and safe on your phone memory or SD card.
To configure local backup:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
- Tap Backup to Google Drive and select Only When I Tap ‘Back Up’.
- Now manually backup via More Options > Back Up Chats.
- Choose to save the backup on your device internal storage or SD card.
Encrypt Google Drive
For additional security, you can encrypt your entire Google Drive with a password using third-party tools. This adds a further layer of protection for your WhatsApp backups.
Some popular options to encrypt Google Drive include Boxcryptor, Cryptomator and Viivo.
Risks of Using Third-Party Backup Tools
There are various third-party apps that claim to backup WhatsApp chats outside Google Drive. However, caution is advised when using such tools:
- The backup may not be encrypted end-to-end like WhatsApp’s official method.
- There is no guarantee the app is not collecting your chat data.
- Restoring chats may not work reliably or completely.
- Such tools likely violate WhatsApp Terms of Service.
For best security and performance, it’s safest to use the official WhatsApp backup to Google Drive where possible.
Conclusion
To summarize, WhatsApp backup to Google Drive provides reasonable security for your chat history with the following safeguards:
- End-to-end encryption secures your chat database.
- It is saved privately in your personal Google Drive account.
- You can enhance security further with backup password and exclusions.
- However, any media backed up may be accessible to Google.
The backup is as secure as your Google account credentials. So be sure to keep your Google password safe and secure. With prudent precautions, WhatsApp backup to Google Drive offers a convenient way to preserve your chat history.