How can i retrieve my whatsapp messages
How to recover WhatsApp messages
The more we use WhatsApp in our daily communications, the more chance we are storing crucial information in those chats. It could be something mundane like a doctor’s appointment time or something serious like an agreement to buy a high-value item or proof of a debt from someone. It could even be chats from a now-deceased loved one that you don’t want to lose. Whatever it is, if you accidentally delete any of it, you need to be able to recover those WhatsApp messages.
Read more: How to use WhatsApp — a step-by-step beginner’s guide
QUICK ANSWER
The answer to recovering WhatsApp messages is a bit drastic, but the only effective method nonetheless. You have to uninstall WhatsApp from your phone, reinstall it, then restore all of your messaging history from a backup. Assuming you haven't backed up after deleting the crucial messages, WhatsApp will reload all your messages, including the deleted ones.
JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS
- How to recover deleted messages on Android
- How to recover deleted messages on iPhone
Note: Before proceeding, remember that if you delete a message — and then back up your archive — those deleted messages will then be wiped in that backup. At that point, the messages will be unrecoverable. So if you have deleted a message you need to recover, make sure any automated backups are immediately canceled — and don’t back up anything manually!
How to recover deleted messages on Android
First, delete WhatsApp from your phone, then reinstall it. You will have to do the whole setup again with your phone number and verify the number. You also need to have your two-step authentication number ready if you had that set up with the previous installation.
Once you have verified your number, it will tell you if it has detected a backup on Google Drive. If it has, it will invite you to restore it.
If you tap SKIP, bear in mind that you will not be able to restore from Google Drive without uninstalling and reinstalling again. But you can select SKIP if you intend to restore from a local backup. More on that in the next section.
Your backup will now be downloaded to your phone and restored. How long it takes will depend on the size of your archive and your internet connection speed.
Once the backup has been completed, you’ll be asked to fill in your display name and enter your two-factor authentication code again. Then your messages will appear on the screen.
Restoring from a local backup
If, instead, you have backed up your WhatsApp archive to your device’s local storage, or an SD card, this is how you can restore it.
Use a file manager such as Google Files to access your phone’s internal storage. Find the WhatsApp folder — the location varies from device to device, so you may have to do a bit of hunting. When you find the folder, go to Databases, and you should see a file named like this.
The name of your file will vary slightly.
Change its name so it has the word BACKUP in it, so msgstore_BACKUP.db.crypt14. Find the file in that folder that you want to restore (likely the most recently dated one) and change its name to the previous file. In this case, it would be msgstore.db.crypt14.
Now uninstall WhatsApp, reinstall it, and go through the initial setup again. When it comes time to restore a backup, since there’s no Google Drive backup to detect, it will detect the local storage version instead.
Restoring from an earlier backup
If you have more than one backup stored on local storage or SD card, you can opt to leap-frog over the most recent backup and choose an earlier one instead.
The method here is virtually identical to the previous method, except each file in the Databases section will have a date attached, such as msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt14. Earlier backups may have crypt13 or crypt12 at the end, but you shouldn’t change this number.
All you need to do is select the one you want to restore and remove the date so it is renamed, in this case, msgstore.1.db.crypt14. But before you do that, make sure the file that already has that name has BACKUP added to the name. You obviously can’t have two files with the same name.
Now go through the reinstallation process of WhatsApp, and select Restore.
How to recover deleted messages on iPhone
Since an iPhone doesn’t support SD cards or restoring from local storage, the only way is through an iCloud backup. In many ways, this greatly simplifies the whole process.
It is the same as restoring an Android phone from Google Drive. Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp on the iPhone. Set up and verify your number again. Select Restore, and it will detect your iCloud backup, where you can then get everything to reset.
Read more: How to find and change your WhatsApp phone number
FAQs
There is no official method from WhatsApp, as Google Drive-based WhatsApp backups are incompatible with iOS devices.
Again though, many paid third-party apps claim to be able to do it. Take these claims with a pinch of salt, though.
You need to have a backup of some description. Because of end-to-end encryption, WhatsApp doesn’t keep copies of your messages on its servers. Plus, from a cost point of view, it’s cheaper to leverage Google Drive or iCloud as backup options. If you haven’t backed up to the cloud, you’ll need to have a backup in your internal storage or SD card. But this only applies to Android devices.
How to Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages
- You can recover deleted WhatsApp messages by restoring your data from a backup.
- Androids can recover WhatsApp messages from a Google Drive or local backup, and iPhone can recover from an iCloud backup.
- If you deleted some messages and then backed up, those messages will also be deleted from the backup and won't be recoverable.
If you use WhatsApp, you may be wondering how to recover your deleted WhatsApp messages. The app does provide a way to get it done, but only by restoring your information from a backup.
The process will depend on the kind of phone you're using — and where the backup data has been stored. Here's how to do it on Android or iPhone.
Quick tip: You need to have backed up your WhatsApp to be able to recover the messages. And if you've only backed up your WhatsApp data after deleting the messages, then they will not be recoverable.
How to recover deleted WhatsApp messages on AndroidAgain, you have to already have backed up your WhatsApp messages for this to work. If you reinstall the app without any prior backups from Google Drive, however, WhatsApp will attempt to restore it from your local backup file automatically.
From a Google Drive back-up:1.
Uninstall and then reinstall WhatsApp.
2. Open the app and verify your number.
3. Tap Restore.
4. Select Next.
Your chats will then pop up once the initialization process is complete. After that, WhatsApp will start restoring your media files.
From a local back-upIf you have an Android and backed up your WhatsApp account to the phone's local backup, here's how to restore your deleted messages.
1. Go to your File Manager.
Quick tip: If you can't find the file manager, you may have to download the Google Files app.
2. Go into the WhatsApp folder and then tap Database.
3. Choose the file called msgstore.db.crypt12.
4. Rename it to msgstore_BACKUP.db.crypt12.
5.
Select the most recently dated backup and rename it to msgstore.db.crypt12.
6. Open the Google Drive app, tap the three-line icon and tap Backups.
7. Delete the WhatsApp backup in the backups folder.
8. Uninstall and then reinstall WhatsApp.
9. Open the app and verify your phone number.
10. Tap Restore.
How to recover deleted WhatsApp messages on iPhoneAs with Androids, you need a backup to recover your messages on an iPhone, though unlike Android, this backup will have been made through iCloud.
Quick tip: If you aren't sure that you have a chat backup, you can verify it by opening WhatsApp, going into the settings tab, selecting Chats and then going to Chat Backup.
1. Uninstall and then reinstall WhatsApp on your phone.
2. Open the app and verify your phone number.
3. Tap Restore to start the process of restoring your information from a backup and getting your deleted messages back.
Devon Delfino
Devon Delfino is a Brooklyn-based freelance journalist specializing in personal finance, culture, politics, and identity. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Los Angeles Times, Teen Vogue, Business Insider, and CNBC. Follow her on Twitter at @devondelfino.
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17 ways to make WhatsApp safer and more private
October 23, 2019 Technologies
Protect the messenger with a PIN code, remove information about the last time you were online, and hide notifications from prying eyes.
1. Set up two-factor authentication
Two-factor authentication greatly increases the security of your account. It will protect you if scammers somehow get access to the SIM card. nine0003
Open WhatsApp and tap → Settings → Account → Two-Step Verification → Enable. Enter and remember the code you created, then enter your email address - you will need it if you need to reset your PIN. Click Done.
Now, every time you log into your WhatsApp account, in addition to the SMS code, you will also need to enter your PIN.
Read also 🧐
- How to set up two-factor authentication for all your accounts
2. Disable pop-up messages
When your smartphone is locked, it still shows pop-up notifications. This is very convenient, but not safe: if you conduct confidential correspondence, anyone can spy on the contents of sent messages and the addressee's name on an unattended gadget. And it doesn't require a fingerprint or password.
Therefore, paranoid notifications should be turned off. There are two ways to do this: in WhatsApp itself and in the smartphone settings. In the messenger, open "Settings" → "Notifications". Turn off "Priority Notifications" in the "Messages" and "Groups" sections. nine0003
In the smartphone settings, the same is done as follows: open the system "Settings" → "Applications and notifications" → WhatsApp → "Notifications". Uncheck the "Show notifications" option.
If you don't want to turn off notifications completely, at least turn them off on the lock screen. To do this, tap "Settings" → "Lock screen" → "Advanced" → "Lock screen notifications". Here you can hide their content so as not to show the text of your messages to strangers, or simply disable them. nine0003
3. Block unwanted contacts
WhatsApp has a huge number of spammers, scammers and just weird and unpleasant people. Luckily, if you don't want to receive messages from someone, you can simply blacklist them.
Open a chat with an unwanted contact and tap "Menu" → "More" → "Block". Or select a conversation with him and press "Menu" → "View contact" → "Block".
You can view users in the black list and, if necessary, remove them from there by pressing "Menu" → "Settings" → "Account" → "Privacy" → "Blocked". nine0003
4. Hide your active time
All WhatsApp users can see the last time you went online. But you can disable this feature so that overly annoying interlocutors do not ask questions why you do not respond to their messages.
Go to "Menu" → "Settings" → "Account" → "Privacy". Click the item "Was (-s)". Change it from Everyone to Nobody. This way no one can see when you were last online. But keep in mind that in this case, you will not be able to see which of your friends when you went online. nine0003
5. Hide details
Details is the text that appears next to your name in your contact list. For newly registered users, this field contains “Hey there! I am using whatsapp.
You can specify ready-made statuses there, for example, “At work”, “Busy” or write any quotes.
And if the message in your Details field is not for everyone, tap Menu → Settings → Account → Privacy → Details and select either My Contacts or Nobody. nine0003
6. Hide statuses
Statuses allow you to share photos, videos, text, and GIFs that disappear after 24 hours. By default, they are shown to all your contacts. If you like to share gifs with cats with your friends, and they come to your boss, you run the risk of being in an awkward situation.
Therefore, go to "Menu" → "Settings" → "Account" → "Privacy" → "Status". Select the "Contacts except" option and specify the people you don't want to annoy with your pictures. Or click "Share With" and your statuses will only be shown to the people you choose. nine0003
7. Hide your photo
Perhaps you want only people you know to see your profile picture. To do this, tap "Menu" → "Settings" → "Account" → "Privacy" → "Profile photo" and select the option "My Contacts".
8. Hide the read receipt
When you receive and view a message from someone, the sender has a read receipt checkmark next to their reply in the chat. This is usually convenient, but can sometimes lead to awkward situations. For example, you forgot to write to a friend in time, and he was offended. nine0003
To avoid this, tap Settings → Account → Privacy and turn off Read Receipts. Please note, however, that in this case you will no longer see the notification checkmarks. And in group chats, this feature does not work.
9. Read messages in flight mode
There is a little trick for those who do not like the previous paragraph. If you don’t want to turn off read receipts, but still want to look at the received letter and not tell anyone about it, switch your smartphone to flight mode. Then open WhatsApp and read the message. Then close it, turn off airplane mode, and the sender won't get a read receipt. nine0003
10. Hide conversations
If you want to hide but not delete a WhatsApp conversation, you can archive it.
Press and hold the desired chat until you highlight it. Then, in the top menu, tap the "Archive" button.
Of course, any person who even knows how to use WhatsApp will still find a hidden chat if you give him time to sit on your smartphone. But still, thanks to archiving, confidential dialogues are not so conspicuous.
To view the archive of chats, scroll to the very bottom of the list of conversations and click the inscription "Archived". There you can also remove conversations that you added by mistake.
11. Disable Location Sharing
WhatsApp makes it easy for you to share your location with your interlocutor. This is much faster than typing an address. By default, WhatsApp prompts you to choose how long to show your location to a friend: 15 minutes, an hour, or 8 hours.
But it would be embarrassing to find out that you showed someone your location in real time for a long time because you mistakenly sent geodata to the wrong person.
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To avoid this, go to Settings → Account → Privacy → Location and make sure you don't share your movements with anyone else.
12. Send private messages from public chats
When you reply to someone's messages in public chats, everyone in the conversation can see it. But you can also send private responses. To do this, highlight the message in the general chat and select the "Reply in person" option from the menu.
13. Revoke unwanted administrator rights
Did you appoint someone as an administrator in a group you created, and he abuses his authority? Revoke his rights. To do this, press and hold a group in the chat list, then tap Menu→Group Details. Select the name of the desired person and click "Revoke Admin".
14. Hide photos and videos from the gallery
By default, the WhatsApp client on Android saves all received media files to your smartphone's gallery. That is, if someone sent you a confidential photo, you may very well accidentally show it to your friends when you show off pictures from your vacation to them.
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Go to Settings → Chats and turn off Media Visibility. Now uploaded files will not be saved in the gallery. At the same time, save mobile traffic.
15. Block the app
In WhatsApp for iPhone, you can secure the app with biometric authentication. Thanks to this, no one will be able to read the correspondence and send messages on your behalf, even if you leave your smartphone unattended.
Open WhatsApp and tap Settings → Account → Privacy → Screen lock. Turn on Touch ID for fingerprint recognition or Face ID for face recognition. Then choose how much time of inactivity to block WhatsApp after. nine0003
On Android, this feature is currently only available in the beta version of the app.
Read also 🧐
- WhatsApp on Android now has a fingerprint unlock feature
16. Delete unwanted messages
Sent someone a message and immediately realized that you shouldn't have done it? Whatsapp allows you to fix this error.
To do this, press and hold the message until you highlight it, and then select the "Delete" option from the menu. nine0003
True, unlike Telegram, WhatsApp does not delete the message without a trace. Instead, the recipient will see "This message has been deleted." What you have sent will not be deleted after about an hour.
Read also 🧐
- How to delete WhatsApp messages when this option is no longer available
17. Disable message backup
WhatsApp can back up your conversations to Google Drive on Android or iCloud on iOS. This will come in handy if you want to recover your messages after a system reset or transfer them to another device.
But in the cloud, messages are stored in unencrypted form, which, by the way, WhatsApp warns about in the settings of this function. So if someone gets access to your vault, then the correspondence will be in the wrong hands. If you've secured Google Drive and iCloud with two-factor authentication, there's not much to worry about.
But it’s still better for paranoid people to disable message backup altogether. nine0003
Tap "Settings" → "Chats" → "Backup Chats" → "Backup" and set the switch to "Never". Now WhatsApp will store copies of chats only in the smartphone's memory.
Read also 🧐
- 10 tips for every WhatsApp user
- How to send photos in original size on WhatsApp
- The most detailed comparison of Telegram, Viber and WhatsApp
Why WhatsApp will never become secure / Sudo Null IT News device. Everything on your phone, including photos, emails and texts, was accessible to attackers just because you have WhatsApp installed. nine0003
However, this news did not surprise me. Last year, WhatsApp had to admit to a very similar problem - a hacker could access all of your phone's data through a single video call.
Every time WhatsApp fixes a critical vulnerability in its app, a new one appears in its place. All security issues are well suited for surveillance, they look and work like backdoors.
Unlike Telegram, WhatsApp does not open source, so security researchers cannot easily check for backdoors. WhatsApp not only does not publish the code, they do the exact opposite: WhatsApp deliberately obfuscates the binaries of their applications so that no one can carefully examine them. nine0003
Perhaps WhatsApp and its parent company Facebook are even required to implement backdoors - through secret processes such as secret orders from the FBI. It's not easy to run a secure messenger while in the US. During the week our team spent in the United States in 2016, FBI agents tried to infiltrate us three times. Imagine what will happen to an American company in 10 years of operating in such an environment.
I understand that the law enforcement agencies justify installing backdoors as an anti-terrorist effort. The problem is that such backdoors can also be used by criminals and authoritarian governments. No wonder dictators seem to love WhatsApp. The lack of security allows them to spy on their citizens, which is why WhatsApp is not blocked in countries like Russia or Iran, where Telegram is banned by the authorities.
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In fact, my work on Telegram was a direct response to personal pressure from the Russian authorities. Then, in 2012, WhatsApp was still transmitting messages in clear text. This is madness. Not only governments or hackers, but also mobile providers and WiFi administrators had access to all WhatsApp texts.
WhatsApp later added some encryption, which quickly turned out to be a marketing gimmick: the decryption key was available to at least a few governments, including Russia. Then, as Telegram began to gain popularity, the founders of WhatsApp sold their company to Facebook and said they had “privacy built into their DNA.” If this is true, then this is probably a dormant or recessive gene. nine0003
Three years ago, WhatsApp announced that they had implemented end-to-end encryption so "no third party can access messages." This coincided with an aggressive call for all users to back up their chats to the cloud. However, WhatsApp did not tell users that, when backed up, messages are no longer end-to-end encrypted and could be accessed by hackers and law enforcement.
Brilliant marketing that has resulted in some naive people now serving prison terms. nine0003
Those who didn't fall for the constant pop-ups advising to back up their chats can still be tracked down with a number of tricks, from accessing contacts backups to subtle changes to the encryption key. WhatsApp user-generated metadata — logs describing who is talking to whom and when — is leaked to all agencies in large volumes through the parent company. In addition, you get a set of critical vulnerabilities that replace each other. nine0003
WhatsApp has a stable and consistent history, from zero encryption at creation to current vulnerabilities oddly suited for surveillance purposes. Looking back, there has not been a single day in their ten year history when this service was secure. That's why I don't think just updating the WhatsApp mobile app will make it secure. To become a privacy-focused service, WhatsApp must risk losing entire markets and clash with authorities in its own country.
They don't seem ready for this. nine0003
The founders of WhatsApp left the company last year due to privacy concerns. They are definitely bound either by secret orders or by the NDA, so they cannot publicly discuss backdoors without risking losing their fortune and freedom. However, they were able to admit that they "sold the privacy of their users."
I can understand the reluctance of the WhatsApp founders to provide more details - it's not easy to compromise your comfort. Several years ago, I had to leave my country after refusing to comply with government-sanctioned violations of the privacy of VKontakte users. It was unpleasant. But will I do something like this again? With pleasure. Each of us will die sooner or later, but we, as a species, will stay here for a while. That is why I think that the accumulation of money, fame or power does not matter. Serving humanity is the only thing that really matters in the long run. nine0003
And yet, despite our intentions, I feel like we have failed humanity in this whole WhatsApp spy story.
Many people can't stop using WhatsApp because their friends and family are still there. This means that we at Telegram have done a poor job of convincing people to switch. Although we have attracted hundreds of millions of users over the past five years, this has not been enough. Most internet users are still held hostage by the Facebook/WhatsApp/Instagram empire. Many of those who use Telegram are also on WhatsApp, meaning their phones are still vulnerable. Even those who have completely given up on WhatsApp are probably using Facebook or Instagram, both of which think it's okay to store your passwords in cleartext (I still can't believe a tech company is capable of doing something like this and quit dry from water). nine0003
In nearly six years of its existence, Telegram has not experienced the major data breaches or security flaws that WhatsApp shows every few months. In the same six years, we have disclosed exactly zero bytes of data to third parties, while Facebook/WhatsApp shares any information with almost anyone who claims to work for the government.
Few people outside of the Telegram fan community realize that most of the new messaging features first appear on Telegram and then copied by WhatsApp down to the smallest detail. More recently, we witnessed Facebook's attempt to borrow the entire philosophy of Telegram, with Zuckerberg suddenly stating the importance of privacy and speed, quoting the description of the Telegram app almost word for word in his F8 speech. nine0003
But whining about FB's hypocrisy and lack of creativity won't help. We have to admit that Facebook is executing an effective strategy. Look what they've done with Snapchat.
We at Telegram must acknowledge our responsibility in shaping the future. It's either us or the Facebook monopoly. Either freedom and privacy, or greed and hypocrisy. Our team has been competing with Facebook for the past 13 years. We already beat them once, in the Eastern European social media market. We will beat them again in the global messaging market. We have to. nine0003
It won't be easy.
