WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. It allows users to send messages, photos, videos and make voice and video calls. One of the key features of WhatsApp is the ability to back up chats to the cloud. This allows you to restore your chat history if you ever switch phones or lose your device. But where exactly is your WhatsApp backup stored?
WhatsApp Backup Overview
When you enable WhatsApp backup, it periodically uploads your chat history and media to the cloud. This includes your messages, photos, videos and other files you have exchanged on WhatsApp.
There are two main backup options on WhatsApp:
- Google Drive backup – Backs up your WhatsApp data to your linked Google Drive account
- Local backup – Backs up your WhatsApp data locally to your device’s storage
The backup contains database files with your messages, media files exchanged on WhatsApp, your settings and other app data. By default, WhatsApp backs up over WiFi only to conserve data usage. You can configure backup frequency and disable backup anytime in WhatsApp settings.
Where is Google Drive Backup Stored?
If you have enabled Google Drive backup for WhatsApp, your chats are backed up to your Google Drive account associated with your phone number. The backup data is stored in a special WhatsApp folder within Google Drive. Here are some details on how it works:
- A dedicated Google Drive folder called “WhatsApp” is created to store your WhatsApp backups.
- This folder is located in the root directory of your Google Drive storage.
- Only you and WhatsApp have access to this folder. It’s not visible to other apps with Google Drive access.
- New backups replace the existing backup in Google Drive. Multiple backups are not maintained.
- Your chats are encrypted by WhatsApp before uploading to Google Drive for security.
- Backup files have extensions like .crypt12, .crypt14 indicating different encryption versions.
- Media files like photos and videos are also backed up in Google Drive within the WhatsApp folder.
So in summary, enabling WhatsApp backup to Google Drive stores your encrypted chat history and media in a dedicated WhatsApp folder within your Google Drive storage.
Checking your Google Drive WhatsApp Backup
You can verify and view details of your WhatsApp backup in Google Drive using these steps:
- Open the Google Drive app or log into drive.google.com
- Look for the folder named “WhatsApp” in the root directory
- Check the size of this folder to see your current WhatsApp backup size
- You can view backup dates by right clicking and checking details
- Open the folder to see files with .crypt and .jpg/.mp4 extensions
- Do not delete any files in this folder or it can corrupt your backup
This allows you to monitor your WhatsApp backup size and dates within Google Drive. Ideally, backup size should not exceed 1 GB as that’s the limit for free Google accounts.
Where is Local WhatsApp Backup Stored?
If you have selected to back up your WhatsApp chats locally, the backup files are stored on your phone’s internal storage. Here are some details:
- Backups are saved in the WhatsApp/Backups folder on your phone’s storage
- Location is typically /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases on Android devices
- On iOS, it is in /User/Library/Databases/WhatsApp/Backup folder
- Each backup file is named msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12
- Media files are also backed up within the WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp Images and Videos folders
Local WhatsApp backups can quickly consume storage space on your phone. The default storage location cannot be changed. You need to periodically clear these backups or copy them elsewhere to free up space.
Accessing Local WhatsApp Backups
To view your local WhatsApp backups and manage storage:
- On Android, use a file manager app to access the WhatsApp/Backups folder
- On iPhone, you need a computer to access the backup files via iTunes
- View the backup files and folder sizes to check storage used
- You can copy backups to another device for storage if needed
- Delete old backups to clear up storage space on your phone
This allows you to directly access, manage and free up space used by your local WhatsApp backups as needed.
How Much Storage is Required?
The amount of storage required for WhatsApp backups depends on several factors:
- Number of Chats – More individual and group chats take up more backup storage
- Media Shared – Photos, videos and voice messages take up significant storage
- Message History – Longer chat history requires more backup storage
- Encryption Overhead – Encryption increases backup size slightly
As a guideline, here is how much backup storage you may need:
| User Type | Backup Size Estimate |
|---|---|
| Individual User | 25 MB – 250 MB |
| Small Business | 250 MB – 1 GB |
| Enterprise | 1 GB – 5 GB |
These are rough estimates only. Individual users with a lot of media sharing could exceed 250 MB. Business accounts tend to have larger backups due to more extensive chat history and media.
Managing Your WhatsApp Backups
It’s important to properly manage your WhatsApp backups to avoid any data loss and ensure you have adequate storage. Here are some tips:
- Check backup sizes periodically and delete old backups
- For local backups, move files to another device if running low on space
- Upgrade to a larger Google Drive storage plan if nearing limit
- Back up important chats or media files separately outside WhatsApp
- Encrypt local backups for security before copying elsewhere
- Adjust WhatsApp auto-backup frequency based on usage and WiFi availability
- Clear cache and large files in WhatsApp to reduce backup size
Keeping your backups optimized ensures you never lose important WhatsApp data while staying within storage limits.
Reducing WhatsApp Backup Size
If your WhatsApp backups are too large, here are some tips to reduce their size:
- Delete old chats you don’t need backed up
- Clear large videos from chat history
- Use a file compressor to reduce size of media before sending
- Export and then delete extra large media files from WhatsApp
- Reduce backup frequency from daily to weekly
- Turn off chat history backups for certain groups
- Clear WhatsApp cache from device storage settings
This can help limit your WhatsApp backups to just essential chat data and media that you need backed up.
Backing up WhatsApp to a Computer
While WhatsApp provides cloud and local backups, you can also manually backup WhatsApp data to a computer for extra safety:
- On Android, connect phone to PC via USB and transfer WhatsApp backup files
- For iPhone, take an iTunes or Finder backup to save to your computer
- Use a third-party software tool to export and backup WhatsApp chats
- Manually copy important media files out of WhatsApp for backup
- Store computer backups securely in an encrypted folder or external drive
This provides an additional layer of backup beyond your phone and cloud storage. It helps prevent permanent data loss in case you lose access to your phone and cloud backups.
Restoring from a Computer Backup
If needed, you can restore WhatsApp chats from a computer backup using:
- On Android, transfer backup files from PC back to your phone’s WhatsApp folder
- For iPhone, restore from iTunes or Finder during setup of a new phone
- Use third-party software to import chats from computer to WhatsApp
- Manually import backed up media files into WhatsApp
This allows you to recover valuable WhatsApp chat history and media from computer backups when required.
Troubleshooting Backup Problems
Sometimes you may encounter issues with WhatsApp backups not working correctly. Here is how to troubleshoot some common problems:
WhatsApp backup stuck:
- Force close and restart WhatsApp
- Check internet connection stability on WiFi
- Enable smaller, more frequent backups
- Clear app cache and try again
Large files failing to backup:
- Compress or export large files and attach again
- Use a computer to back them up separately
- Upgrade Google Drive storage if exceeding free limits
Encryption problems:
- Update WhatsApp to latest version
- Delete and re-initiate a fresh backup
- Try toggling between cloud and local backups
Lost or corrupted backups:
- Restore your phone to factory settings
- Clear WhatsApp data before reinstalling
- Retrieve backup files again from cloud or computer
This covers some basic troubleshooting steps for failed, incomplete or lost WhatsApp backups. Reach out to WhatsApp support if the problems persist.
Conclusion
WhatsApp backup allows you to preserve your valuable chat history, media files and app data. Google Drive and local phone storage provide simple backup options, but you can also manually back up WhatsApp to your computer for extra redundancy.
Checking your backup locations periodically, monitoring size limits and troubleshooting any failed backups ensures your WhatsApp data remains protected and available when you need it.
With end-to-end encryption and authentication, WhatsApp ensures your chat backups remain private and secure. Proper backup management gives you peace of mind that your WhatsApp data is always safe.