WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps with over 2 billion users worldwide. It allows easy communication through text messages, voice calls, video calls, images, documents etc. WhatsApp stores all your chat history and media on your phone’s internal storage or SD card.
All your WhatsApp data including chats, media, voice messages etc. is stored in an encrypted database file on your phone. The database file has a cryptic name like msgstore.db.crypt12. By default, this database file cannot be accessed directly to view or extract your WhatsApp data.
Why extract WhatsApp data?
There are several reasons why you may want to extract and access your WhatsApp data outside of the app:
- Take backup of your important chats & media before factory resetting your phone
- Migrate your WhatsApp account to a new phone
- Extract old chats from an older phone to view later
- Access deleted/lost WhatsApp data that is unavailable in the app
- Analyze your WhatsApp usage and chat statistics
Manual WhatsApp backup
WhatsApp provides the option to backup your chats and media manually or automatically to Google Drive. This backs up your WhatsApp data online and not on your phone’s storage. However, Google Drive backup has some limitations:
- Media files are limited to photos, videos up to 16MB and 100MB total per backup
- You cannot selectively backup specific chats or media
- Backup does not include your call history
- Backup cannot be password protected
- You need active internet connection and Google account
So if you want to take a complete backup of your WhatsApp data including media files, call history etc. the manual Google Drive backup may not suffice.
How to extract WhatsApp database from phone?
To overcome the limitations of Google Drive backup, you can directly access and extract the WhatsApp database file from your phone. Here are the steps to extract WhatsApp database on Android and iPhone:
On Android:
- Install a file manager app on your Android phone. You can use the inbuilt file manager or install a third-party app like ES File Explorer.
- Launch the file manager app and navigate to the WhatsApp folder location: Internal Storage > WhatsApp > Databases.
- Here you will find the msgstore.db.crypt12 file which is the WhatsApp database.
- Long press and select the crypt12 file. Choose the export/share option to save a copy of this database file to another location on your phone or SD card.
- You can also connect your Android phone to PC and transfer the database file to your computer.
On iPhone:
- Connect your iPhone to your computer and launch iTunes.
- While your phone is connected, click on the phone icon and select File Sharing.
- Under Apps, scroll down to WhatsApp and click on it.
- You will now see the WhatsApp database files listed here. Select the file and click Save to… to export it to your computer.
- The database file will be saved as a .sqlite file which you can access on your PC.
This will save a copy of your WhatsApp database file which contains your complete chat history, media files, voice messages and more. You can then access this database file to view and extract WhatsApp data.
How to view WhatsApp database file?
The raw WhatsApp database file is stored in an encrypted format and cannot be opened directly. You need to use a desktop software that can decrypt this crypt12 or .sqlite file and display your WhatsApp data in a readable format. Some apps that can help you access WhatsApp database are:
For Android:
- WhatsApp Viewer
- DB Browser for SQLite
For iPhone:
- iMyFone iTransor
- iBackup Viewer
These tools allow you to open, view and extract data from the crypt12 or .sqlite WhatsApp database files on your computer. You can view your chats, export media files, and extract other data like contacts, call logs etc.
How to read WhatsApp crypt12 database?
The crypt12 file is the main WhatsApp database that stores your chat history and media files. It is encrypted using AES-256 encryption to protect your chat data and cannot be opened directly. To read this crypt12 database, you need to use a decrypting tool like WhatsApp Viewer or iMyFone iTransor for Android and iPhone respectively.
Here are the main steps to read WhatsApp crypt12 database on Android:
- Export the crypt12 file from your phone to your computer as explained earlier.
- Download and install the WhatsApp Viewer software on your computer.
- Run WhatsApp Viewer and click on Open Database to select the crypt12 file from its location.
- The software will decrypt the database and display your chats in a readable format.
- You can browse through chats, view media files, export conversations as text, PDF etc.
This allows you to access your complete WhatsApp data from the crypt12 database file including text messages, media files, voice notes and more.
How to extract media from WhatsApp database?
Apart from chats, the WhatsApp database also contains your media files like photos, videos, documents, audios etc. that you have shared or received on WhatsApp. Here is how you can export and extract media files from WhatsApp database:
- Use WhatsApp Viewer or iMyFone iTransor to open your crypt12 or .sqlite database file.
- Go to the Media tab which will display all your WhatsApp media files.
- Select the media files you wish to export. You can export photos, videos, audio files and documents.
- Click on Export to save the selected media files to your computer.
This will allow you to retrieve and save media files from your WhatsApp database even if they are no longer available on your phone.
How to convert crypt12 to PDF?
To save a permanent copy of your WhatsApp chats outside the app, you can convert the crypt12 database file to PDF format. The PDF can be easily viewed on any device without requiring any special software. Follow these steps:
- Open your WhatsApp crypt12 file in WhatsApp Viewer tool.
- In the Chats tab, use the search option to find the specific chat you want to export.
- Select the conversation and click on Print as PDF option.
- This will save the selected chat as a PDF file on your computer.
- You can repeat this to export multiple chats from crypt12 file to PDFs.
The PDFs can be easily shared, printed or stored as permanent records of your important WhatsApp conversations extracted from the database file.
Conclusion
WhatsApp database called crypt12 or msgstore.db on Android and .sqlite on iPhone, contains your complete chat history and exchanged media. By extracting this database from your phone and viewing it on your computer using specialized tools, you can access your full WhatsApp data for backup, migration or analysis.
The encrypted WhatsApp database can be decrypted using apps like WhatsApp Viewer and iMyFone iTransor to view and export your chats, media files, contacts and other data. You can also convert specific chats or full database to PDF format for permanent storage and accessibility. Using these methods, you can extract your entire WhatsApp data from your phone for various purposes.