Saving your WhatsApp chats and media can be useful for keeping records, freeing up space on your phone, or transferring conversations to a new device. Luckily, WhatsApp makes it easy to export and backup your chats to your phone’s storage, Google Drive, or other services.
Why Should I Backup My WhatsApp Chats?
Here are some key reasons why you may want to backup your WhatsApp data:
- Preserve important conversations – Backing up lets you save special or meaningful chats that you want to keep for the long term.
- Free up space – WhatsApp media like photos and videos can take up a lot of storage space on your phone over time. Backing up lets you clear space while saving your chats.
- Transfer to a new device – If you’re getting a new phone, backing up allows you to transfer your existing WhatsApp data and pick up right where you left off.
- Recover lost data – If you lose or break your phone, a backup lets you restore your chats if needed.
- Have a records – Backups provide a records of your conversations that you can access if needed.
How to Backup WhatsApp Chats
WhatsApp gives you two main options for backing up your chat data – local backups to your phone’s storage, and Google Drive backups to the cloud. Here are the steps for each method:
Local Backup to Phone Storage
- Open WhatsApp and tap the More options (three dots) menu.
- Select Settings > Chats > Chat backup.
- Tap “Back Up to Local Storage.”
- Tap “Back Up” to confirm and start the backup process.
- Wait for the backup to complete. You can then access the backup files from your phone’s file storage.
Google Drive Backup
- Make sure you’re logged into your Google account on your phone.
- Open WhatsApp and tap More options > Settings > Chats > Chat backup.
- Tap “Back Up to Google Drive.”
- Tap “Back Up” to start the backup process.
- Follow the prompts to select a Google account and confirmation options.
- WhatsApp will now regularly back up your chats to your Google Drive storage.
The Google Drive method makes it easy to restore chats when setting up WhatsApp on a new device. Just install WhatsApp, verify your phone number, then select “Restore” when prompted during setup to pull down your backed up chats.
How to Manage Your Backups
Once you’ve configured backups, here are some tips for managing and working with your backup files:
- Check backup status – In WhatsApp’s Chat Backup settings, you can see the last date/time your chats were backed up.
- Force a backup – You can manually trigger an immediate backup anytime by using the “Back Up” button in WhatsApp’s Chat Backup settings.
- Exclude media – In Local Backup settings, toggle off “Include Videos” to exclude media and reduce backup size.
- Encrypt backup – Enable encryption in Google Drive backup settings for added security.
- Manage Google Drive storage – Your WhatsApp backups take up space in Google Drive like any other files. You may need to manage your storage allocation.
- Save to other cloud services – Use a file manager app to copy local backup files to cloud storage like Dropbox, OneDrive, etc for redundancy.
How to Restore Backed Up WhatsApp Chats
If you need to restore your chats from a backup, here is how to access and recover your backup files:
Restore Local Backup
- Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp.
- When prompted, select “Restore from backup” during setup.
- WhatsApp will load your latest local backup file and restore your chats.
Restore Google Drive Backup
- Install WhatsApp on your new device.
- Verify your phone number when prompted.
- On the “Restore chats” screen, select “Restore” to pull chats from Google Drive.
You can also download your Google Drive backup as a ZIP file from Google Drive and extract the backup file to your phone storage to restore manually.
How to Transfer WhatsApp from One Phone to Another
When moving to a new phone, using your Google Drive backup is the easiest way to transfer WhatsApp. But there are also other options:
- Cable transfer – Connect both phones via USB and use your old phone’s file manager to copy the WhatsApp/Databases folder to your new phone.
- External SD Card – Back up to SD card, then insert card into new phone and restore backup.
- Cloud transfer – Back up chats to a cloud service like Google Drive, Dropbox or iCloud, then download backup to new phone.
- WhatsApp Transfer app – Use an app to wirelessly migrate your chats and data to your new device.
How to Export a WhatsApp Chat Conversation
WhatsApp also allows you to export an individual chat or group conversation to your device storage in a text file format. Here’s how:
- In WhatsApp, open the chat you want to export.
- Tap More options > More > Export chat.
- You’ll get options to export with or without media. Choose your preference.
- The chat will be exported and saved as a text file in your phone’s Download folder.
You can then open this file in any text editor app to view the plain text version of your chat.
How to Save WhatsApp Pictures and Media
To save the photos, videos, GIFs, voice messages and other media files you receive in WhatsApp:
- Photos/Videos – Open the photo or video full screen, then tap the download arrow icon to save to your device gallery.
- Documents – Tap and hold on the document, then tap the download icon.
- GIFs – Tap and hold the GIF, then tap Download.
- Voice messages – Open the voice message, tap the downward arrow icon, then tap Save.
You can also save entire media collections in chats using the Export Chat feature covered above.
Third-Party WhatsApp Backup Tools
In addition to WhatsApp’s built-in backup features, there are various third-party apps that offer enhanced backup and transfer capabilities:
| App | Key Features |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp Transfer | Wireless chat transfer between Android devices |
| CopyTrans Contacts | Back up chats to computer |
| SMS Backup & Restore | Backup to cloud storage like Dropbox |
| ShareIt | Cross-platform chat transfer |
These tools provide additional options like computer backups, wireless transfers, cloud storage integration, and more.
Troubleshooting WhatsApp Backups
Here are some tips for troubleshooting common WhatsApp backup issues:
Backup Not Working
- Check for internet connection errors
- Ensure you have enough free storage space for backup
- Force close and restart WhatsApp
- Clear cache and data for WhatsApp then set up backup again
- Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp
Backed Up Chats Not Restoring
- Double check you selected “Restore” during WhatsApp setup
- Try using a different restore method like local storage
- Check if your backup is very old and chats expired
- Make sure backup file is not corrupted
Large Backups Using Lots of Storage
- Exclude media like videos from backup
- Clear some old chats and media you no longer need
- Use a storage management tool to identify and remove large files
- Switch to a phone with more internal storage capacity
Conclusion
Keeping regular backups of your WhatsApp chats and media ensures you have a copy of important conversations, memories, and data. WhatsApp provides built-in local and cloud backup capabilities, allowing you to easily save and restore your chats when needed. Taking full advantage of these tools along with safe media storage practices gives you peace of mind that your WhatsApp data is protected.