If youve ever wondered about your WhatsApp message storage, youll be happy to know that WhatsApp automatically backs up and saves your chats to your phones internal memory. You can schedule periodic backups to Google Drive as well, with varying frequency from daily to monthly. Show
Have you ever wondered where are WhatsApp messages stored? When youre using a messaging app like WhatsApp, its hard not to think about the storage and security of your messages, especially because many messages contain personal information that you wouldnt want to be shared with the world. The good news is that WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption to protect your messages. It also backs them up, so you can easily restore them when you need to without security risk. Read on to learn about where WhatsApp messages are stored and how to back them up. Contents
Where Are WhatsApp Messages Stored On Android, iPhone, and PC?WhatsApp is currently one of the most popular messaging services thats available on all platforms. It allows you to send messages, make audio and video calls as well as share media files with your contacts. One of WhatsApps main selling points is that it offers End-to-End encryption which means that no one, other than you and who youre talking to, can read your messages, not even WhatsApp. Another key point of WhatsApps service is that it does not store your chat history on its servers. When you send a message, WhatsApp only keeps that message on its servers until the recipient receives the message or for a max of 30 days. Even then, the end-to-end encryption prevents WhatsApp from reading your message. The only time a message is stored on WhatsApps servers is if the recipient cannot receive it (maybe theyre offline or dont have a WhatsApp account). In cases like those, the message(s) you sent are automatically deleted off of WhatsApps server in 30 days time. So this probably has you wondering if WhatsApp doesnt store your messages on its servers, then where are they stored? The answer is, your WhatsApp messages are stored locally on your phone in the form of encrypted backups. Read on to learn more about where you can find these backups on iPhone and Android, as well as how to back up your WhatsApp messages. Youll also learn about where WhatsApp messages are stored on your PC when you use WhatsApp Web or WhatsApps PC app. Where Are WhatsApp Messages Stored On iPhone? Using iCloudWhen using WhatsApp on iPhone, you can back up your messages to iCloud. If you wipe your iPhone or plan to switch over to a new one, you can use these backups to restore WhatsApp messages. Heres how to back up your WhatsApp to iCloud:
Thats how you back up WhatsApp on iCloud. Heres a video tutorial showing you how to back up WhatsApp on iPhone: Where Are WhatsApp Messages Stored On iPhone? Using iTunesBesides iCloud, another great way to back up and restore WhatsApp messages on your iPhone is by using iTunes. Heres how to do it:
Heres a video tutorial showing you how to back up the WhatsApp messages on your iPhone using iTunes: Where Are WhatsApp Messages Stored On Android?WhatsApp on Android allows both cloud and local storage of backups. You can back up your WhatsApp to Google Drive, and WhatsApp can also automatically create a local backup in your phones internal memory every day at 2 am. The cloud backup allows for easy transfer of WhatsApp data between phones, and the local backup allows you to easily restore your WhatsApp without the cloud backup. Heres how to back up WhatsApp on Android:
Heres a video tutorial that shows you how to back up WhatsApp on Android: If youre interested in how to transfer your WhatsApp backup from your phones internal memory to your SD card, heres a detailed guide on how to do it. This can be a great way to clear some space on your phones internal memory, as well as transfer your WhatsApps local backup to a new Android phone, so you can restore your WhatsApp messages on your new Android phone without using Google Drive. However, if youre switching from Android to iPhone and want to know how to access your WhatsApp backup on Google Drive on your new iPhone, then take a look at this detailed guide on how to make the switch. Many people think its impossible or costly to move your WhatsApp chats from Android to iPhone, however, this guide is a great way to help you do it. Where Are WhatsApp Messages Stored On PC?WhatsApp has come a long way and now not only offers WhatsApp Web, but also a dedicated PC app, as well. You can link the PC app with WhatsApp on your phone and use it to text, record, and share voice notes, send pictures and videos as well as make voice and video calls, all from your computer. When it came to finding where WhatsApp messages are stored on PC, I couldnt do it myself. The thing is, WhatsApp on PC is not like WhatsApp on your mobile phone, and it doesnt store backups directly on your PC. What you can find on your PC are WhatsApps cache files and logs, which hold the temporary data that WhatsApp uses when you use it on your PC. However, similar to the encrypted backups on your phone, you cannot read the cache data like a regular file. During my test, I couldnt find the cache and log data for WhatsApp on my PC, however, from my research I found out that you can search your computer for them. Heres how to do it:
Many articles online mention that you can find WhatsApp messages in the Downloads folder on your PC. However, I discovered that this is not the case. Its not WhatsApp messages or backup files that can be found in the Downloads folder, but rather media files, such as pictures, videos, audio files, and documents, that you download from WhatsApp Web or WhatsApp for PC. While the Downloads folder is the default folder for downloads from WhatsApp Web or WhatsApp for PC, you can choose another folder to save your WhatsApp files. Therefore, while you cant find old messages via this method, it is a good way to find your downloaded pictures and other media files. Heres how to find downloaded WhatsApp media files on your PC:
If youre interested, heres a video showing you how to download existing WhatsApp media files from WhatsApp web onto your PC: FAQsAre WhatsApp messages stored anywhere?WhatsApp messages are only stored on your phone and not on the WhatsApp server. The messages are only stored on the server when you send them and are deleted when the receivers get them. However, if they are not received, they are held and automatically deleted after 30 days. How long are messages stored on WhatsApp?Messages are held on WhatsApps servers for 30 days if they are not received after being sent. This means when you send a message, it is deleted from servers, once received. However, if it is not received, then it is stored for 30 days and automatically deleted after that time. Are WhatsApp messages stored on iPhone?WhatsApp messages are not stored on iPhone, but rather on iCloud. iTunes can also be used as a backup method too. Your WhatsApp chats are stored there because WhatsApp does not store your messages on its servers. This also makes it easier for you to restore your WhatsApp after installation. Can you retrieve old WhatsApp conversations?You can retrieve old WhatsApp conversations. The best way to do this is to uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp. When youve reinstalled the app, youll be prompted to restore your backup, which has your old WhatsApp conversations. If you set your backup frequency to daily, youre unlikely to lose many chats. Where Are WhatsApp Messages Stored Wrapping UpWhatd you think of this tutorial? Now you have the answer to the question, Where are WhatsApp messages stored? Whether youre using iPhone or Android, youll see that you can easily back up and locate your WhatsApp messages for restoration. If youre interested in learning about how restore backs up between iOS and Android, heres a guide on how to transfer WhatsApp from Android to iPhone and another on how to transfer WhatsApp from iCloud to Android. Be sure to leave a comment, letting me know how the backup worked for you. Also, dont forget to share this with your family and friends. |