How to Backup your WhatsApp on iPhone and Android in 2024

It is important that you know how to backup your WhatsApp either on your iPhone or Android.

Most people are scared of losing their phones. The thought of someone stealing it or misplacing it can send chills down their spines.

And if you’re a WhatsApp user, it’s not just the device you lose—you might also lose important chats, memorable pictures, essential documents, and all those special moments you’ve shared with friends and family.

WhatsApp stores all your messages, photos, and files locally on your phone. So, if something happens to your device and you haven’t backed it up, all that data might be gone for good.

But here’s the good news: if you create a backup, you can quickly restore everything, even on a new phone!

In this article, we’ll explain how to back up your WhatsApp messages and attachments so you can keep your data safe no matter what happens to your phone.

1Why You Should Always Backup Your Whatsapp Account

2How to Backup your WhatsApp Messages on Android

3How To Backup your WhatsApp Messages on iPhone

4Store Your WhatsApp Backup in the Cloud

5How to Encrypt Your WhatsApp Backup

6How To Restore Your WhatsApp Backup

7How to Import a WhatsApp Account Backup on a New Phone

8Can I Open and View my WhatsApp Data with a Backup?

9How to Export a WhatsApp Chat Thread

10FAQs

11Conclusion

12References

13Recommendations

Why You Should Always Backup Your Whatsapp Account

It is super important that you back up your WhatsApp account, and here’s why: If something happens to your phone like it gets lost or stolen, you don’t want to lose all your chats, pictures, and videos, right?

A backup means you can easily restore everything on a new device without stress. You can also set a lock on your chats on WhatsApp for safety purposes.

WhatsApp doesn’t keep copies of your messages on its servers once sent. If there are unsent messages (like when you’re out of service), they are encrypted, meaning no one, not even WhatsApp or Meta, can read them.

And if those messages aren’t sent after 30 days, they’re deleted.

So, all your WhatsApp data— texts, photos, videos, stickers, or reactions—lives on your phone. If you lose your device, the only way to recover all that content is by using a backup.

Luckily, WhatsApp makes it easy to back up everything. Android users can back up their data to Google Drive, while iPhone users can use iCloud. Even better, you can set it up to back up automatically so you don’t have to worry about losing anything.

How to Backup your WhatsApp Messages on Android

If you’re using an Android phone, WhatsApp will back up your data to Google Drive, linked to your Google account. Here’s how to set it up:

Open WhatsApp and tap on the three-dot icon at the top right corner of the screen.
Select Settings, then go to Chats, and tap on Chat Backup.
Under Back up to Google Drive, choose how often you want your data backed up—daily, weekly, monthly, or only when you manually hit “Back up.” But ensure it’s not set to Never if you want your data saved.
Under Google Account, select the Google account where you want to store your backup (make sure you have enough space in your Google One storage plan!).
You can choose to back up over Wi-Fi or cellular data, but keep in mind that cellular backups might use a lot of your data plan. You can also decide if you want to include videos in the backup, but remember that videos take up more storage space.

Once you’ve set everything up the way you want, just press Back up to start the process. Now, you can relax knowing your WhatsApp data is safe and ready to be restored if your phone is damaged.

How To Backup your WhatsApp Messages on iPhone

If you’re an iPhone user, it is easy to backup your WhatsApp messages. WhatsApp uses your iCloud account to store and update backups, so everything is saved in the cloud.

Here’s how to set it up:

Go to your iPhone settings: Open your phone’s Settings app, then tap on your Apple ID profile at the top.
Select iCloud: Scroll down and ensure the toggle for iCloud Drive is switched on. Once that’s done, scroll again and flip the toggle for WhatsApp to turn it on.
Open WhatsApp: Now, head back to WhatsApp. Tap the three-dot icon in the top-right corner, go to Settings, then Chats, and tap Chat backup.
Backup your chats: You can choose Backup Now for manual backup or turn on Auto Backup to schedule backups regularly. This way, your WhatsApp chats will stay backed up without you thinking about it.

Unfortunately, iPhones don’t offer a cellular backup toggle, but videos can be included. Just remember that backing up videos will take up more space.

Store Your WhatsApp Backup in the Cloud

Although iCloud and Google Drive make it easy to store backups, they aren’t necessarily the most secure for WhatsApp privacy.

If you’re someone who worries about protecting your chats, you can store your backup files using a different cloud service that offers better security features.

How to Encrypt Your WhatsApp Backup

Let’s discuss encryption, which ensures that your WhatsApp backup remains completely private, even when it’s stored in the cloud. With end-to-end encryption, no one—including WhatsApp or Meta—can read your messages.

To set this up, you must create a password or a 64-digit encryption key. Remember this because you’ll need it to restore your backup later! Here’s how to do it:

Go to Chat backup settings: In WhatsApp, navigate to Settings, then Chats, and tap on Chat backup.
Turn on encryption: Select End-to-end encrypted backup, tap Turn On, and choose whether to create a password or use a 64-digit key.
Set up your security key:
If you’re choosing a password, enter it twice to confirm. It needs to be at least six characters long and include one letter.
If you’re going with a 64-digit key, tap Generate your 64-digit key. You can copy it to your clipboard or take a screenshot to save it. Make sure you store this key somewhere safe!
Finalize the setup: After you’ve saved your key, press Continue, then select I Saved My 64-digit key. Finally, confirm everything by selecting Create, and your encrypted backup is ready!

Once you complete these steps, perform an immediate backup to replace unencrypted backups in your storage.

How To Change Your Encryption Password

If you ever want to change your encryption password or switch from a passkey to a password, you can easily do that from the End-to-end encrypted backup settings.

To turn off encryption, Select Turn off, then enter your current passkey or password. If you forget your key or password, you can authenticate using your device and turn off encryption.
To change your password: Tap Change password in the same menu. If you’re switching from a 64-digit key to a password, you won’t need to recall your old password. Select I lost my encryption password and authenticate on your device to bypass the password recall step.

How To Restore Your WhatsApp Backup

Restoring your WhatsApp backup is super easy, but you must ensure you’re following the right steps.

First, you must reinstall WhatsApp from your app store, like Google Play or the Apple App Store. WhatsApp limits how many times you can verify your phone number, so it’s important to get it right the first time.

Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Give WhatsApp the Permissions It Needs

WhatsApp will request access to your contacts, photos, media, and files to restore your message history. Just tap Continue to get started.

Step 2: Allow All Permissions

You must allow every permission WhatsApp asks for. If you skip any, your chats will not be restored properly.

Step 3: Start Restoring

WhatsApp will find your backup. Once it confirms the source is correct, just hit Restore to return all your chats.

Step 4: Finish Setup

After restoring, tap Next to finish setting up WhatsApp, and you’re ready!

How to Import a WhatsApp Account Backup on a New Phone

Got a new phone but still want all your WhatsApp chats? Don’t worry—you can restore your account in no time. There might also be a time you need to move your WhatsApp from your iPhone to Android or vice versa.

Here’s what to do to import a WhatsApp account backup on a new phone:

Link the Same Phone Number and Account: Make sure your new device has the same phone number and is connected to the same Google Drive or iCloud account as your old one.
To set up WhatsApp, Open WhatsApp on your new device, tap Continue, enter your phone number, and tap Next.
Verify Your Phone Number: WhatsApp will generate a six-digit passcode and send it to your old device. If you don’t have your old phone, choose Send SMS or Call me for a new passcode.
Restore Your Backup: WhatsApp will prompt you to restore your backup once verified. Tap Restore to bring back your chats. If your backup is encrypted, you must enter your password or passkey to access it.

Can I Open and View my WhatsApp Data with a Backup?

You can’t directly open or view your WhatsApp backup files on Google Drive or iCloud.

The backups are stored in a special format that isn’t human-readable, especially if encrypted.

Even if they’re not encrypted, you can’t just unzip the backup and browse your chats.

How to Export a WhatsApp Chat Thread

Want to save specific conversations with your favorite people? Exporting a WhatsApp chat thread is perfect when you don’t need your entire account backed up. Here’s how to do it:

Option 1: Export From the Chat Itself

From the WhatsApp home screen, open the conversation you want to export.
Tap the three-dot icon in the top-right corner, then tap More and select Export chat.

Option 2: Export From Settings

From the WhatsApp home screen, tap the three-dot icon, go to Settings, then Chats, and select Chat history.
Choose Export Chat and select the conversation you want to save.

You’ll have the option to export just the text or include media (like photos, videos, and voice messages). Once you’ve made your choice, the export process will start.

When done, your device will give you options to share or save the file through another app. To read the chat, ensure your program supports .txt files.

FAQs

How Can I Restore My WhatsApp Chat History?

Restoring your WhatsApp chat history is simple. When you reinstall WhatsApp on your phone, it will ask if you want to restore your chat history. Ensure your backup is saved on your device or linked to your Google Drive or iCloud account. Choose the restore option once it detects the backup, and you’ll get all your chats back.

How Do I Backup My WhatsApp Messages to Another Phone?

To transfer your WhatsApp chats to a new phone, backup your data using the same process as above. Suppose your phone is connected to iCloud or Google Drive. In that case, restoring your chats is even easier—you can just log in to your account on the new phone and restore everything without downloading the backup manually.

How Can I Manually Restore My WhatsApp Backup?

If you have a backup file stored on your device, you can manually restore it. First, copy the latest backup file into the Databases folder of your new phone’s local storage. Then install WhatsApp, verify your phone number, and tap Restore to bring back your chats and media when prompted.

What If I Forgot to Backup WhatsApp?

No worries! If you forgot to backup your chats, you can still recover them. Just uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp, verify your phone number, and WhatsApp will check for any local backups on your device. If it finds one, tap Restore, and your lost messages will be recovered.

Conclusion

There’s no reason not to backup your WhatsApp chats on iPhone or Android. A backup ensures you can quickly recover all your conversations, photos, videos, and other attachments.

If you’ve saved your data to the cloud but can’t see it, check your backup folder—it might be stored separately. You can usually access it through the cloud provider’s official webpage on your computer.

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