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Will deleting WhatsApp backup delete everything?

WhatsApp is 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. WhatsApp automatically creates backups of users’ chat history and media to help restore data if they lose their phone or switch to a new one. This backup is stored locally on the user’s device and can also be configured to backup to Google Drive or iCloud. A common question many WhatsApp users have is – “Will deleting my WhatsApp backup delete all my chats and media?” Let’s dive into the details to understand how WhatsApp backups work and what happens when you delete them.

What does WhatsApp backup to your phone?

WhatsApp backups include the following data from your account:

  • Your chat history – All your text messages, images, videos, documents etc. that you have exchanged on WhatsApp.
  • Your media – Photos, videos, audio, documents and other media files you have sent or received on WhatsApp are backed up.
  • Your WhatsApp settings – Your profile information, privacy settings, block list etc. are part of the backup.

So in essence, it creates a copy of your entire WhatsApp account data that can be used to restore if required.

What happens when you delete a WhatsApp backup on your phone?

When you delete a WhatsApp backup from your phone storage, the backed up files are permanently erased and cannot be recovered. However, this only affects the locally stored backup, and not your actual WhatsApp account and chats. Here is what happens:

  • Your WhatsApp chats and media that are visible within the app will remain intact.
  • Your chat history will not be deleted.
  • You can continue using WhatsApp on your phone to send/receive messages and media.
  • Your profile information, settings, block list will be unaffected.
  • Only the local backup file saved on your phone storage will be removed.

So in summary, deleting a local WhatsApp backup does NOT delete your actual WhatsApp account or your chat history. It only removes the backup copy from your phone storage. Your WhatsApp app and account remain fully functional.

Will my Google Drive/iCloud backup also be deleted?

If you have configured WhatsApp to backup your data to Google Drive (Android) or iCloud (iOS), then that backup will NOT be deleted when you remove the local backup from your phone.

The cloud backups to Google Drive or iCloud work independently of the phone storage backup. Deleting local backup will not affect those cloud backups.

Your Google Drive or iCloud backups will remain intact and can still be used to restore your data on a new device if required. You will need to manually delete the WhatsApp backup from Google Drive or iCloud separately to remove those.

Should I delete my WhatsApp backup?

Here are some things to consider before deleting a WhatsApp backup:

  • You will lose your backup – If you face any issues with your WhatsApp account and need to restore data, you won’t have an accessible backup.
  • You’ll have no way to retrieve lost data – If you accidentally delete important chats or media on WhatsApp, the backup will not be available to retrieve them.
  • Changing phones will be more difficult – You cannot use the backup to transfer your WhatsApp data easily to a new phone.
  • It’s safe to delete if you have another backup – Either on Google Drive or iCloud which you can rely on if needed.

Unless you are running low on phone storage space, it is generally recommended not to delete your WhatsApp backup so that you have a way to restore your data if ever required.

How does WhatsApp backup work?

WhatsApp uses the following backup process:

  • Automated daily backup – WhatsApp automatically does a daily backup of your most recent chats, media, and other data at 2 AM by default.
  • Manual backup – You can also manually trigger a backup at any time from WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
  • Local storage backup – Backups are saved by default to your phone’s local storage. The backup size depends on how much WhatsApp data you have.
  • Google Drive / iCloud backup – You can choose to backup to Google Drive or iCloud which gives you free online backup storage.
  • Encrypted backup – WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption to secure all your chats, media and data during the backup process.

This way, your WhatsApp chats, history, media etc. are regularly backed up and can be restored if ever needed.

Where are WhatsApp backups saved?

WhatsApp backups the following locations:

  • On Android – /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases folder
  • On iPhone – WhatsApp folder in iCloud Drive
  • Google Drive – If Google Drive backup enabled (WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Chat Backup)

You can navigate to these locations on your phone to find the WhatsApp backup files.

How to delete WhatsApp backup on Android?

Follow these steps to delete WhatsApp backup on Android:

  1. Open WhatsApp and go to Settings.
  2. Tap on Chats > Chat Backup.
  3. Tap on “Delete Backup” to permanently delete the Google Drive backup.
  4. To delete phone storage backup, go to phone storage > WhatsApp > Database and delete the backup files.

This will remove all WhatsApp backup files from your Android device storage as well as Google Drive.

How to delete WhatsApp backup on iPhone?

Here are the steps to delete WhatsApp backup on iPhone:

  1. Go to iPhone Settings > Your Name > iCloud.
  2. Tap on Manage Storage > Backups.
  3. Select the WhatsApp backup and tap on Delete Backup to confirm.
  4. Open WhatsApp, go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup and turn off iCloud backup.

This will remove the WhatsApp backup stored on your iCloud Drive.

How much storage does WhatsApp backup take?

WhatsApp backups can range from a few MBs to over 1 GB based on how much content you have in your chats and media. Here are some approximate WhatsApp backup sizes:

WhatsApp Usage Backup Size
Mostly text messages ~10-50 MB
Text + some media files ~50-250 MB
Lots of photos & videos ~0.5 – 2 GB

As you can see, the more media content you share on WhatsApp, the larger the backup size.

How to reduce WhatsApp backup size?

Here are some tips to reduce WhatsApp backup size:

  • Delete old chats you don’t need
  • Delete large videos/photos after sharing
  • Enable auto-delete old messages
  • Use a video compressor to shrink video sizes
  • Clear large files stored in WhatsApp > Data and Storage Usage
  • Export chats to PDF to remove media
  • Back up only when on WiFi to limit mobile data usage

Following these steps will help minimize your WhatsApp backup size.

Conclusion

To summarize, deleting your WhatsApp backup will only remove the locally stored backup files but will not affect your actual WhatsApp account or chat history. Your WhatsApp will continue to work normally without losing any messages, media or settings. However, you will lose your ability to restore any lost or deleted data from the backup. It is recommended to only delete backups if you have another cloud backup as restoration method or are running low on phone storage.