How to Back Up WhatsApp Chats

A backup lets you restore your messages and media after a reset, a lost phone, or a move to a new device. On Android the backup goes to Google Drive; on iPhone it goes to iCloud.

Open Chat backup

On Android, tap the three-dot menu in the top right, then Settings, Chats, Chat backup. On iPhone, tap Settings in the bottom right, then Chats, Chat Backup.

Choose the account and frequency

On Android, tap Google account and pick the account that should hold the backup. Then tap Back up to Google Drive and choose Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Only when I tap "Back up". On iPhone, tap Auto Backup and choose Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Off. iPhone uses the iCloud account already signed in on the phone, so make sure iCloud Drive is turned on in the phone's iCloud settings.

Decide whether to include videos

Turn on Include videos if you want them saved. Videos make the backup far larger and slower to upload, so leave the toggle off if storage is tight. Photos, voice notes, and documents are included either way.

Run a backup now

On Android, tap Back up. On iPhone, tap Back Up Now. Stay on Wi-Fi and keep WhatsApp open until the progress bar finishes. The screen then shows the date and size of the last successful backup.

Turn on end-to-end encryption (optional)

On the same screen, tap End-to-end encrypted backup, then Turn on. Create a password, or let WhatsApp generate a 64-digit encryption key, and store it somewhere safe. Without that password or key the backup cannot be restored by anyone, including WhatsApp.

Storage. Backups count against your Google Drive or iCloud quota. Google's exemption for WhatsApp backups has ended, so a large backup can fill the free 15 GB. Check the size on the Chat backup screen and clear old media in Settings, Storage and data, Manage storage if needed.

Restoring. A backup is the only way to get chats back. WhatsApp does not keep your message history on its servers, so a phone without a backup has no history to recover.