2 Quick Ways to Backup WhatsApp Messages and Data

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WhatsApp chat data is every bit as important as your phone's stock text messages are. To avoid losing your data if your phone is stolen or broken, you'll want to back up your WhatsApp chats. Luckily, you can do this directly from within the app's settings menu.

Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

Using iPhone

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  1. You'll need to have access to iCloud Drive in order to back up your WhatsApp chats. To do so:
    • Tap your Settings app to open Settings.
    • Tap the "iCloud" tab.
    • Tap the "iCloud Drive" tab.
    • Swipe the iCloud Drive slider right; it should turn green.
  2. You can tap the Home button to do so.
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  3. You can back up your phone's WhatsApp data directly from within WhatsApp's settings menu.
  4. This is in the bottom right corner of the WhatsApp screen.
  5. This will open your chat settings.
  6. This will take you to WhatsApp's chat backup page.
  7. This will initiate your backup. You also have a couple of other options in this menu: [1]
    • "Auto Backup" - Choose whether automatic backups occur daily, weekly, monthly, or never.
    • "Include Videos" - Include your chats' videos in the backup.
    • If this is your first time backing up your data, your backup might take several minutes to complete.
  8. When WhatsApp is done backing up, you will see a "Last Backup: Today" note at the top of your Chat Backup page.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

Using Android

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  1. You can back up WhatsApp from within its Settings menu.
    • To back up WhatsApp, your Android must be synchronized with Google Drive.
  2. This should resemble three vertical dots. [2]
  3. This should be in the lower right corner of your WhatsApp screen.
  4. This will open your Chats preferences.
  5. From here, you have a few options:
    • "Back up to Google Drive" - Back up your chats to Google Drive.
    • "Auto Backup" - Toggle auto-backup settings. You can choose "Daily", "Weekly", "Monthly", or "Off" (the default).
    • "Include Videos" - Swipe this option to "On" to include videos in your backup settings.
  6. This will prompt you to choose a backup frequency.
  7. As long as your phone and your Google Drive account both have enough space for the backup, this process will continue.
  8. If you don't have a Google account registered, you will need to tap "Add Account" and enter your email address/password. [3]
  9. You can do this by tapping "Back up over", then tapping a network.
    • If you use data rather than wifi, you may get charged for the use.
  10. If this is your first backup, it may take a few minutes.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    Why can't the photos from Whatsapp auto upload to the gallery?
    Community Answer
    Check your WhatsApp settings or your phone settings. Maybe you haven't got enough photo storage on your phone to store the photos, therefore WhatsApp isn't letting you keep the photos in your gallery.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
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    Not Helpful 5 Helpful 14
  • Question
    I keep trying this, but it says that I need 3.3 MB storage on my phone in order to back up to iCloud. What do I do?
    Community Answer
    Try to back up on Google servers. They are free, and you don't need any free space on your phone to do that.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 7 Helpful 14
  • Question
    How can I retrieve my WhatsApp Chats on a tablet if I haven't backed it up?
    Community Answer
    You cannot retrieve them if they are not backed up.
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    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
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    Not Helpful 2 Helpful 4
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.whatsapp.com/faq/en/iphone/20888066
      2. ↑ https://www.whatsapp.com/faq/en/android/21228643
      3. ↑ https://www.whatsapp.com/faq/en/android/20887921

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      1. Open WhatsApp .
      2. Tap Settings .
      3. Tap Chats .
      4. Tap Chat Backup .
      5. Tap Back Up Now or Back up to Google Drive .
      6. Tap BACK UP (Android only).

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