WA Chat Accidentally Deleted, Here's How to Backup and Restore WhatsApp Conversations on an Android Phone

Illustration of a person logging into WhatsApp. Credits: pexels.com by Anton

WhatsApp backup is a step to keep your chats, media and stickers safe. Even, in situations of device loss, accidental deletion, or new device settings.

For Android cellphone users, WhatsApp itself has a backup feature to Google Drive which can be set based on the time frequency you want.

However, each backup will save the latest version of data and replace the previous one. Therefore, you cannot save multiple versions at once.

It is also important to note, Google Drive will delete WhatsApp application data that has not been updated for five months. This is a policy that applies even if the data does not impact the cloud storage quota or cannot be recovered from the Trash Bin.

To check the backup status in Google Drive PC browser, you can look under the 'Storage' menu. Although you can't see the backup content, you can disable it if you no longer need it.

On Android smartphones, you can find this option in the 'Backup' menu in WhatsApp settings.

Apart from backing up to Google Drive, on Android phones, WhatsApp also makes daily local copies directly to the device memory or installed micro SD.

If you don't have a backup in Drive or want to restore data on a different device, WhatsApp will automatically check for a local backup.

Remember, it is important to keep your data safe by activating end-to-end encryption on WhatsApp. That way, you can be sure your data remains safe during the backup and restore process.

So, to find out how to backup and restore WhatsApp chats, here are the steps as quoted from Android Police,

How to Find and Restore Your WhatsApp Backup on Google Drive

Google will provide a new application as a replacement for the existing Backup and Sync application on desktop devices. (doc: Google)

Use a PC browser to access your Google Drive backup for a wider view. You can also use smartphone apps and browsers, then use Desktop mode and make sure you are logged in to the correct Google account.

Search for WhatsApp Chat Backup on Google Drive via browser

  1. Open Drive via a browser
  2. Click Storage in the left sidebar.
  3. Select Backup. You will see your WhatsApp backup and the last time you updated it.
  4. Double-click the backup to see the available options.
  5. To delete it permanently, click Delete Backup.
  6. Or, select Turn off to disable WhatsApp backup.

Disconnect WhatsApp on Google Drive

  1. Click the settings icon in the top right corner.
  2. Select Settings.
  3. Select Manage applications. Then scroll down, to WhatsApp Messenger.
  4. Click Options, then Disconnect the connection from Drive.
  5. Click Disconnect to confirm.

How to Access WhatsApp Backup via HP Application

WhatsApp illustration. Credit: Webster2703 via Pixabay

  1. Open Google Drive.
  2. Tap the menu icon in the top left corner.
  3. Select Backup. You will see your WhatsApp backup and the last time you updated it.
  4. Tap the three-dot icon next to backup to see the available options.
  5. To delete it permanently, select Delete backup. Then tap Delete to confirm.
  6. To stop future backups, select Turn backup off.

How to Stop Automatic WhatsApp Backups on Google Drive

  1. Open WhatsApp.
  2. Tap the three dots icon in the top right corner.
  3. Select Settings.
  4. Go to Chats > Chat backup.
  5. Tap Back up back to Google Drive.
  6. Select Never.

How to Find WhatsApp Local Backup on an Android Phone

WhatsApp automatically saves daily backups on your device locally, so it doesn't require the internet.

Past backups appeared with the crypt14 extension, for example, msgstore-2023-06-03.1.db.crypt14. On the other hand, the latest backup appears with the extension crypt14 and has no date, such as msgstore.db.crypt14.

How to Recover WhatsApp Chats and Data

Illustration of WhatsApp display. (Photo source: Pexels.com)

To recover data, you have to reinstall WhatsApp or delete the data. After verifying the phone number, the app allows you to restore a backup from Drive.

For local backups, you may have to adjust some settings. If you've turned off Drive backup and WhatsApp still asks you to restore it, delete your Google account from your device.

This way, the app will ask you to restore data on your device, not in the cloud.

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