WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. A key feature of WhatsApp is its built-in backup system, which allows users to save their chat history, media, and settings. This backup can then be restored if you lose your phone or switch to a new device.
By default, WhatsApp backups are enabled and run on a daily basis when the app is open and connected to WiFi. However, some users choose to turn off backups due to privacy concerns or to save storage space on their phone.
Turning off backups means your WhatsApp data will no longer be saved to your Google Drive or iCloud account. So if you lose your phone or uninstall the app, your chat history will be erased.
Here is an overview of what happens when you turn off WhatsApp backups:
Lost chat history
The most significant impact of turning off backups is that you will lose your existing WhatsApp chat history if you uninstall the app, lose your phone, or switch to a new device. This includes all of your conversations, media files sent and received, and any other data saved within WhatsApp.
Without a backup, there is no way to restore your chats if anything happens to your phone or app installation. Once the data is gone, it is likely gone forever.
Disappearing media files
In addition to losing chat logs, any media files like photos, videos, and audio sent or received on WhatsApp will disappear if you have no backup.
This can be frustrating if you have years of memories shared with friends and family via WhatsApp that are only saved within the app’s local database. Turning off backups means losing access to that media forever if your local WhatsApp data is erased.
Lost WhatsApp status updates
WhatsApp statuses allow users to post photos, videos, and texts that disappear after 24 hours. However, with backups disabled, your posted status updates will not be restored if you switch devices or reinstall WhatsApp.
While statuses are meant to be temporary, keeping backups enables you to restore your status history in case you need to access or retrieve them later on.
Disappearing WhatsApp settings
Various preferences and settings within WhatsApp will be lost without backups, such as your profile name, About info, notification settings, chat wallpapers, and more.
While these can be reset, it is inconvenient to have to completely reconfigure your app settings from scratch on a new device. Backups store your exact WhatsApp configuration so it is perfectly restored when restoring from a backup.
Loss of chat history with deleted contacts
If you have chats with deleted or unknown contacts, these conversations will be erased when you switch devices without a backup.
WhatsApp stores your chat history with any users you have interacted with, even if they are no longer in your contacts list or their number is not registered with WhatsApp anymore. Backups preserve chat history with all users, while restoring WhatsApp without a backup will wipe all traces of conversations with numbers not on your device.
What data is NOT affected?
While most essential WhatsApp data is lost without backups, some details persist:
- Your WhatsApp account and number will remain unchanged. You can still reinstall WhatsApp and reconnect with your same number.
- Contact names/numbers stored on your device or SIM card will remain available.
- Any media files you saved directly to your phone storage outside of WhatsApp will not be deleted.
So only your actual WhatsApp-related data (chats, media, settings) stored within the app’s internal database will be erased without backups. Your core account and contacts remain intact.
Can I recover data after disabling backup?
Once you stop WhatsApp backups and then lose your local app data, it becomes very difficult to recover lost chats:
- Android: It may be possible to use data recovery apps to salvage remnants of the WhatsApp database from your phone’s storage or SD card. But results vary widely depending on your device and the recovery app’s capabilities.
- iPhone: Hackers have demonstrated methods to extract some leftover WhatsApp data from jailbroken iPhones. But for most users, there are limited recovery options due to iPhone encryption.
In general, your best bet is enabling WhatsApp backups to proactively protect your data. Disabling backups means preparing for the eventuality of irrecoverable data loss.
Should I keep WhatsApp backups enabled?
Here are some pros and cons to weigh when considering whether to keep WhatsApp backups:
Pros
- Preserve your chat history, media files, and settings.
- Seamlessly restore everything if switching devices.
- Encrypted end-to-end (for chats only, not media).
- Peace of mind knowing your data is protected.
Cons
- Privacy concerns about backing up data to the cloud.
- Recurring storage space consumed on Google Drive or iCloud.
- Potential performance impact on your phone from daily background backups.
For most users, the benefits of comprehensive backups outweigh the downsides. But users with stringent privacy requirements or highly limited storage may decide disabling WhatsApp backups is preferable for their needs.
Conclusion
Disabling WhatsApp backups comes with the risk of permanent data loss. Your chat history, media files, settings, and other local WhatsApp data will be unrecoverable if anything happens to your device or app installation.
For most users, maintaining automatic backups is recommended to safeguard your account. But backups can be disabled if you have privacy concerns or don’t need your WhatsApp data preserved. Just be ready to lose your chat history and media if you later switch phones or lose your device.