WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. It allows you to easily communicate with friends, family and coworkers through text, voice messages, video calls and more. One great feature of WhatsApp is that it allows you to backup your chat history and media to the cloud or your computer. This ensures you have a safe copy of your conversations in case you lose your phone or need to restore your chats on a new device.
Why should I backup my WhatsApp messages?
There are a few key reasons you may want to backup your WhatsApp messages regularly:
- Preserve chat history – Backing up lets you save entire conversations, which can serve as memories or records.
- Restore after switching devices – If you get a new phone, backing up makes it easy to transfer your chats.
- Recover from data loss – If your phone is lost, damaged or wiped, a backup lets you restore your chats.
- Free up phone storage – Backups let you clear space on your phone while preserving chats.
- Migrate platforms – You can transfer chats from iPhone to Android or vice versa.
In summary, backing up gives you valuable protection against lost or inaccessible messages. It’s a simple precaution that pays off when you need it.
How to backup WhatsApp messages on desktop
WhatsApp provides a desktop app for Mac and Windows that you can use to backup your messages. Here are the steps to backup chats to your computer:
- Install WhatsApp Desktop – Go to https://www.whatsapp.com/download and download the desktop app for your operating system.
- Link to your phone – On your phone, open WhatsApp > Settings > Linked Devices > Link a Device. Scan the QR code with your desktop camera.
- Enable backups – On your phone, go to WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Backup to Google Drive. Enable auto backups.
- Verify backup – On desktop, check Settings > Chats > Backup to see the last backup date and time.
- Restore chats – To restore from backup later, on your new phone install WhatsApp > verify number > on prompt select “Restore from Google Drive.”
Following these steps will securely backup your messages to Google Drive. The chats will then sync to your linked desktop app so you have a convenient copy on your computer. Make sure to keep backups enabled and remember your Google account details to restore if ever needed.
How to manually backup WhatsApp messages on desktop
In addition to automated cloud backups, you can also do manual local backups of your WhatsApp chats to your computer. Here’s how:
- Open WhatsApp desktop and go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
- Under Back Up Conversations, choose Export Chat. Pick which chats you want to backup.
- Choose a folder location on your computer to save the backup file. The backup will be saved as a .txt file.
- To restore from this backup later, go to WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Import.
The advantage of local backups is being able to manually export chats anytime. However, cloud backups are usually more convenient and automatic. Use both for comprehensive protection.
What gets backed up on WhatsApp
When you enable chat backups, here’s what gets saved from your WhatsApp account:
- Messages – All your text messages, group chats, and media captions.
- Media – Photos, videos and other media sent in chats.
- Settings – Your profile info, privacy settings, and chat wallpapers.
- Group info – Group names, photos and descriptions.
- Call history – Records of your calls in WhatsApp.
Message notifications, ringtones and some other metadata are not currently backed up by WhatsApp. But all key conversations and account details can be preserved.
Backup size and frequency
WhatsApp currently allows backups up to 2 GB in size. This includes your media plus other data. If you reach this limit, older backups may be deleted to make space.
For frequency, WhatsApp does a daily backup by default. You can optionally enable backups to occur every week or month instead. Frequent backups are safer to prevent data loss.
Security of WhatsApp backups
WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption for messages in transit but backups are not encrypted. However, there are a few protections in place:
- Cloud backups are encrypted on Google Drive or iCloud.
- A password can be set to encrypt local backup files.
- Google Drive and iCloud backups require your account password to restore.
While not fully encrypted, backups do have reasonable security. Just be careful not to lose your phone and backup password at the same time.
Troubleshooting WhatsApp backup issues
Here are some common backup issues and fixes:
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Can’t enable backups | Check internet connection. Clear chat storage space. Force close and restart WhatsApp. |
| Backups not working | Enable auto backups. Ensure Google Drive or iCloud has space. Force manual backup. |
| Restore not working | Use correct Google/iCloud account. Reinstall WhatsApp. Contact WhatsApp support. |
As a precaution, do occasional manual backups and verify they completed properly. Saving your chat history is important, so persist through any errors and find a resolution.
Conclusion
Regularly backing up your WhatsApp messages is vital to avoid losing your chat history if anything happens to your device. Thankfully WhatsApp makes it easy to do both automatic and manual backups.
Enable Google Drive or iCloud backups so your chats are always saved to the cloud automatically. Additionally, do manual exports for an extra layer of protection. Verify your backups completed properly every once in a while.
With your chats safely backed up, you’ll have peace of mind knowing your memories and conversations aren’t at risk. Don’t wait until it’s too late – start backing up your WhatsApp messages today.