WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, with over 2 billion users. It allows you to easily communicate with friends, family and colleagues through text, voice messages, video calls and more. A great feature of WhatsApp is its built-in backup system that lets you create backups of your WhatsApp data to restore if you ever lose your phone or switch to a new device.
Normally, restoring your WhatsApp backup requires installing WhatsApp again. But what if you don’t have WhatsApp installed and want to view your backup files and media? Whether you want to view old messages and photos, or export your chat history, there are ways to open and access your WhatsApp backup without having WhatsApp installed.
What does a WhatsApp backup contain?
Before we look at how to open your WhatsApp backup, let’s first understand what exactly gets backed up. A WhatsApp backup contains the following data from your account:
- Your chat history and messages
- Your WhatsApp media files – photos, videos, voice messages, documents etc. sent and received
- Your WhatsApp settings and preferences
- Your WhatsApp contacts list
- Your WhatsApp call history
- Any starred messages
Backups are stored on your device’s internal storage or your Google Drive if you have WhatsApp backup setup. Every 24 hours, WhatsApp automatically backs up your data to your selected backup location. You can also manually backup whenever you want from WhatsApp’s Settings.
Where are WhatsApp backups stored?
WhatsApp backups are stored in different locations depending on your device:
- Android: WhatsApp/Databases folder on your phone’s internal storage or Google Drive
- iPhone: iCloud Drive
- Windows Phone: OneDrive
On Android, your chat history, messages, contacts etc. are stored in encrypted databases with keys to decrypt them. Media files are stored in their original formats in the Media folder.
On iPhone, your entire WhatsApp data including chats, media etc. is packed into an encrypted iTunes backup file.
How to view WhatsApp backup files on Android
To view your WhatsApp backup on Android without WhatsApp installed:
- Install a file manager app like ES File Explorer or Solid Explorer on your Android device.
- Open the file manager and go to the WhatsApp/Databases folder.
- Here you will find backup files like msgstore.db.crypt12, wa.db.crypt12 etc. These contain your chat history and messages.
- Also go to WhatsApp/Media folder to find all your WhatsApp media.
- While you can open and view media files like photos, videos, audio messages etc., you cannot decrypt the database backup files without the encryption key.
If you have Google Drive backup enabled, your WhatsApp data will also be backed up to your Google Drive. To view it:
- Open the Google Drive app on your Android device.
- Look for the WhatsApp folder.
- Here you will find database backup files from different dates as well as the Media folder.
- Download these backup files to your device storage. Then follow the steps above to view media files.
How to view WhatsApp backup on iPhone without WhatsApp
To view your WhatsApp backup on iPhone without having WhatsApp installed:
- Connect your iPhone to your computer and open iTunes.
- Go to Preferences > Devices and select your iPhone.
- Click on Backups under the Backups section.
- Select the desired backup and click Restore Backup.
- In the popup window, check WhatsApp under Apps to selectively restore just your WhatsApp data.
- Click Restore and your WhatsApp data will be extracted and restored to a folder on your computer.
- Navigate to this folder to find and view your WhatsApp chats, media files and more.
Alternatively, you can use a third-party iOS data recovery tool to extract WhatsApp data from an iTunes or iCloud backup without restoring it to your iPhone.
How to view encrypted WhatsApp backup files
As mentioned before, WhatsApp encrypts your chat history and messages database files to protect your privacy. These files with .crypt or .crypt12 extensions cannot be opened without the encryption key.
Here are some ways to view encrypted WhatsApp backup files:
- Use a desktop WhatsApp client like WhatsApp Web or WhatsApp Desktop to restore your backup. This will decrypt and display your chats.
- Use the WA-Crypt decryption tool to decrypt WhatsApp backup files on Android. You’ll need your 64-digit decryption key.
- For iPhone backups, use a tool like iBackup Viewer to open and view decrypted WhatsApp chats and media files.
- Install WhatsApp again on your device and restore your backup when prompted. This will decrypt and restore your chats.
How to transfer WhatsApp chats to a new phone
Once you have access to your WhatsApp backup, you can transfer your chats and data to a new phone in a few ways:
- On Android, copy the msgstore.db.crypt12 and media files to your new phone’s WhatsApp/Databases folder.
- Or use Google Drive – upload your backup files and restore them when you install WhatsApp.
- For iPhone, restore your iTunes or iCloud backup to your new phone.
- Connect both phones to your computer. Use software like dr.fone to transfer WhatsApp data from one phone to another.
- Email or transfer media files and exports of your chat history CSV/TEXT files.
How to convert WhatsApp backup to PDF
Here are some ways to convert your WhatsApp chats and media to PDF format:
- On Android, use Google Drive’s built-in Convert to PDF feature on uploaded WhatsApp media files.
- On iPhone, open WhatsApp media files in the Books app and use the export PDF option.
- Use PDF converter apps or software like SmallPDF, Adobe Acrobat Pro to convert media files to PDF.
- For chat history, export your WhatsApp chats using email/CSV/TXT options. Paste into a document editor like Word, convert to PDF.
- Print your WhatsApp chats from WhatsApp Desktop to a PDF creator virtual printer like PDFelement.
Top WhatsApp backup viewer & extractor tools
Here are some of the best and most popular third party apps and software to view, extract and access your WhatsApp backup:
| Tool | Platform | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| dr.fone – WhatsApp Transfer | Windows, Mac | Extract and view WhatsApp chats, photos, videos, documents from Android & iPhone backups. Transfer WhatsApp between devices. |
| iBackup Viewer | Windows, Mac | Browse and extract WhatsApp messages, attachments, videos, images from iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch backups. |
| iMazing | Mac, Windows | Selectively view and export WhatsApp messages, attachments, chats from iOS backups. |
| Jihosoft WhatsMate | Windows, Mac | Recover and export WhatsApp data from Android & iPhone device and iTunes/iCloud backups. |
| MobileTrans – WhatsApp Transfer | Windows, Mac | Preview and restore WhatsApp chats, attachments, videos, notes from Android and iPhone backups. |
| PhoneRescue for iOS | Mac | Extract and recover WhatsApp messages and attachments from iCloud and iTunes backups. |
WhatsApp chat history viewer apps
Here are some of the top apps to view and read your exported WhatsApp chat history and messages:
- WhatsApp Chat Viewer (Android)
- Print My WhatsApp Chat (iPhone)
- WhatsScan Chat Reader (Android)
- PhoneView (Mac)
- SmallPDF (Web)
These apps support various exported WhatsApp chat formats like TEXT, CSV, HTML and let you view chat history conveniently on your device.
Conclusion
While WhatsApp does not officially allow viewing backups without an active account, there are various workarounds as covered above. On Android, you can access the database and media files directly through file explorer apps. For iPhone, you need to use iTunes or iCloud backups and specialized tools to extract WhatsApp data.
It is recommended to use official desktop WhatsApp apps whenever possible to restore backups. This avoids decryption issues. Third party iOS and Android tools also make it easy to view, recover and transfer your WhatsApp chats, photos, videos and other files from device and cloud backups.
So in summary, with the right tools you can easily view and access your WhatsApp backup without requiring WhatsApp installed on your phone. You can simply view media files, transfer chats to a new device, print conversations, and more.