Do you need to recover deleted or missing WhatsApp messages? It's certainly possible, depending on the situation.
Below, you'll learn how to recover deleted WhatsApp messages on your iPhone or Android device. We'll then teach you how to set up an advanced WhatsApp backup plan to ensure you never lose any of your WhatsApp messages again.
In order to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages, you must have enabled Chat Backup in the app's settings. To reach this, tap the Settings tab. It's on the bottom bar of the iPhone app; on Android, open the three-dot menu at the top-right and choose Settings.
From there, head to Chats > Chat backup. Here (under Auto Backup on iOS and Back up to Google Drive on Android), the app offers several backup frequencies (along with the option to encrypt your WhatsApp backups):
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On Android, WhatsApp makes a local backup every night, but this won't help you if you lose your phone. This is why cloud backups are vital.
WhatsApp deletes older backup files as you create new ones. The iPhone app only keeps the latest backup file, while the Android version keeps "up to the last seven days' worth" of backup files. Keep that in mind as you choose the right backup frequency for your needs.
By having daily auto-backups, you'll be able to easily recover WhatsApp messages soon after deleting them. On the other hand, weekly auto-backups will allow you to go further back in time to recover deleted WhatsApp messages, at the expense of losing recent chat messages.
For a more advanced backup plan for Android devices, scroll down to the "An Advanced WhatsApp Backup Strategy for Android" section below.
Before we look at recovering deleted WhatsApp messages, there's a chance that you might have just archived a missing chat, not deleted it. But what's the difference?
Archiving removes the chat from your list, allowing you to hide conversations that you're done with for now.
You can unarchive a chat at any time to access it again, and archiving doesn't delete anything in the chat. Conversely, deleting a chat erases its contents, so they're no longer accessible to you.
On iPhone, when you archive a chat, you can immediately reverse the archival by shaking your device and choosing Undo to recover the archived chat. But even if you miss this, it's easy to retrieve archived WhatsApp chats later.
To unarchive a WhatsApp chat on iPhone:
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To unarchive a chat on Android:
Wondering how to get back deleted WhatsApp messages after backing them up? You can restore your WhatsApp backup by simply uninstalling and reinstalling WhatsApp on your device.
When you reinstall the app, you will be prompted to restore your message history from the backup file. Tap Restore and you'll retrieve everything from the latest backup. Make sure to do it when prompted, as you can't restore the backup file later.
This method of recovering deleted WhatsApp messages works on both Android and iPhone, as long as you have a backup. Keep in mind that you can only recover backed-up messages within your selected auto-backup frequency, however.
For instance, if you've set the app to back up daily, you can recover any deleted chats before the next daily backup occurs.
But if the app has made a new backup since you deleted certain messages, they're lost for good.
Hopefully, restoring your backup file allowed you to retrieve any deleted media from your chats. If that didn't work, however, read our guide to recovering deleted photos from WhatsApp.
On Android, you can simply open a file explorer app and navigate to /WhatsApp/Media. From there, simply sift through the folders until you find the deleted photos you want to recover.
On iPhone, you should have a backup copy of images saved to your device if you have the Save to Camera Roll option enabled at Settings > Chats in WhatsApp.
Check the above guide for additional methods of media recovery.
Getting deleted messages back after a new WhatsApp backup has run is slightly more difficult. Your success will depend on your selected auto-backup frequency.
Note that the below strategy only works on Android devices, since the OS lets you access local backup files. If you're using an iPhone, your only other method is to restore an iPhone backup that you made before deleting the WhatsApp chats. There are third-party apps that claim to help you recover WhatsApp chats, but they aren't cheap and offer no guarantees. Whether you use these is up to how much you value the missing messages.
Before we dive into the process, here's an overview of restoring older WhatsApp chats on Android:
As mentioned before, WhatsApp on Android retains several days of chat backup files. One is, of course, the latest chat backup. The others, depending on your auto-backup frequency, could be one day or many days old. In addition to the Google Drive cloud backup, WhatsApp stores these backups on your device's local storage.
Open your device's file explorer app (Files by Google is a good option if you don't have one installed), and navigate to /WhatsApp/Databases. Depending on your device, the WhatsApp folder may appear under /sdcard/, /storage/, Internal Memory, or similar.
Within that WhatsApp folder, you'll find the various chat backup files. The latest one is named msgstore.db.crypt12, while the others look like msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.
1.db.crypt12. As you'd expect, YYYY-MM-DD represents the year, month, and date (respectively) that the backup file was created.
To retrieve WhatsApp messages deleted sometime between two backups, simply do the following:
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After this, uninstall WhatsApp. If you've enabled Google Drive cloud backups, open the Google Drive app, slide out the left menu, and select Backups. You'll see a WhatsApp backup file with your phone number in it. Tap the three-dot Menu to the right of this and choose Delete backup to erase it.
Doing this prevents WhatsApp from using the backup file in Google Drive instead of the local file you want to restore.
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Now, reinstall WhatsApp from the Play Store. During the setup process, you'll be prompted to restore from the backup file you've just tweaked—it will show as X days old instead of the most recent backup file. Confirm restoration from this file.
That's all you have to do in order to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages from older backups. Once you've restored those messages, feel free to start using WhatsApp as normal again.
When you walk through the above, you'll lose any messages created since the backup you restored. If you only performed that process to restore a few deleted messages, and don't want to lose recent messages, you can export the retrieved chat messages and then restore WhatsApp to the latest backup.
You'll have to run through the entire process again, but it's not difficult.
To export messages, open the chat containing the messages you want to save. Tap the three-dot Menu button at the top-right, followed by More > Export chat. If the chat has media, you'll see an option to export Without media or to Include media.
Including media will add all recent images as attachments, which obviously increases the size of the export file. You can export up to 10,000 messages with media, or 40,000 messages without media.
After you make your choice, choose an app on your phone to share the text file (and attachments, if applicable) containing your messages. You can email this to yourself, add it to cloud storage, or similar. Repeat this for any other chats with messages you want to save.
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Once you're done exporting, follow the steps in the above section again to access your WhatsApp backups.
When you come to renaming the backup files, reverse the process:
Uninstall WhatsApp, delete your Google Drive backup again if needed, and reinstall the app. After you restore from backup, your latest chats will reappear. The messages you exported won't appear inside WhatsApp, but you can at least see them in the text file whenever you need them.
Because you can easily view and edit WhatsApp chat backup files on Android, it's easy to manipulate them. Renaming them allows you to keep as many backup files as you want.
All you need to do is rename a backup in the msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12 format to something else, such as oct11.db.crypt12 or 2021-June-Backup. Because this file doesn't use WhatsApp's naming convention, it's now protected from WhatsApp overwriting it.
Consider creating your own backup file in this way once every month or so. That way, you won't lose tons of messages if you have to restore from an older backup. For even more safety, you should copy these backup files to cloud storage or your computer so that they're safe in case your phone stops working or you lose it.
As you can see, it's fairly easy to recover deleted WhatsApp messages. However, this is only the case if you've backed up your messages ahead of time. This is why the advanced backup strategy is worth setting up if you're an Android user. iPhone owners don't have as many options.
Now that you know you won't lose any WhatsApp messages in the future, it's a good idea to discover some of WhatsApp's other cool features that aren't immediately visible.
If you just switched your phone, you will possibly think about restoring WhatsApp messages from your backup online. The question you will be asking yourself, in this case, would be how can I restore the old WhatsApp chat that I have skipped to restore?
WhatsApp is a commonly used social messaging app in recent days. The existence of billions of users demonstrates the significant role WhatsApp plays when it comes to exchanging messages and various attachments like videos, pictures, and videos. If you have important messages on your WhatsApp, you will not want to lose them when switching your phone. This article will provide easy-to-understand guidelines on how to restore WhatsApp chats on your android and iPhone.
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Besides Google Drive, WhatsApp for android usually backs up messages to the local storage on your phone.
If you uninstall your WhatsApp, there still are chances of restoring the messages and photos. While restoring from Google drive can be the easiest way, you first need to backup the chats before uninstalling the app from your phone. In case you didn’t backup WhatsApp to Google Drive, the local backup file could be used to retrieve the chats when reinstalling the app. The WhatsApp local backup is usually encrypted, unlike the ones in Google Drive.
If your WhatsApp is working and you would like to prepare the most recent WhatsApp backup chats, the following guideline will help you with the process. However, it would help if you remembered that the recent backup files would overwrite the existing ones.
If you need to back up the videos, remember to check the ‘include videos, box and ensure the device has enough storage to accommodate the data.
You can also prevent WhatsApp from backing up your chats to Google Drive. In this case, you should choose your backup frequency to “never.” You will then proceed to tap on the Backup button to begin the process of backing up your WhatsApp data to the local internal storage. You will have the latest WhatsApp chats backup on your phone.
To restore the WhatsApp chats backup using the local backup, you need to uninstall or delete the WhatsApp application from your phone and then reinstall.
Tap on the restore option to get all your recent WhatsApp chats.If you had not backed up the recent WhatsApp chats on your phone before deleting the application, you could still restore from a previous local backup. The following process with get you done.
If you use WhatsApp to exchange confidential messages and files, you will not want to lose them. Since unexpected events might occur that might lead to WhatsApp data loss, it is advisable to back up everything to a computer. There are many ways to achieve this task regardless of whether you use android or iOS devices.
The possible methods you can use to backup WhatsApp chats to a computer include:
Email chat feature.
Transferring directly from the phone memory.
Using a tool called MobileTrans.
MobileTrans is seemingly the easiest way to backup WhatsApp content, including messages, images, videos, and other attachments to a computer with one click.
Below is a brief highlight of the software.
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MobileTrans comes with a couple of features to perform different WhatsApp tasks for both android and iOS devices. Besides transferring WhatsApp data from your phone to the computer, MobileTrans can perform WhatsApp transfer from one phone to another, transfer other content on other social media apps, and restore everything with some clicks.
MobileTrans allows WhatsApp users to transfer content selectively. The software is compatible with various types of data, including messages, audio, videos, messages, and more. You can perfectly transfer to any version of android and iOS device. Transferring to a computer or another device only requires one click hence saving your time. Besides, you do not have to worry about your privacy because MobileTrans will always keep your chat history safe.
The tool can also restore the WhatsApp backup to your phone conveniently. In the process of restoring WhatsApp data, MobileTrans does not overwrite the existing data on your phone.
The following steps will guide you on transferring your WhatsApp from your android device to the computer using MobileTrans – WhatsApp transfer. The method is safe, easy, and does not require an internet connection to achieve the task.
Soon after WhatsApp data is backed up successfully, you will receive success notification on the screen.The following section provides a precise comparison of MobileTrans – WhatsApp transfer with other methods to back up WhatsApp data to a computer, i.e., exporting directly from phone memory and the email chat feature. The comparison is based on various elements as described below.
Process time for the transfer: MobileTrans – WhatsApp transfer is the fastest and precise method to transfer WhatsApp data.
Exporting from phone memory is slower than the MobileTrans tool but faster than the email chat feature. Email chat is a complicated process and not preferable for most WhatsApp users.
Reliability: MobileTrans and email chat are reliable methods because the WhatsApp messages are readable after transferring to a computer. When you export directly from phone memory, the chats are not readable because the file format is incompatible. You need a WhatsApp backup extractor to convert the files into a readable format.
Transfer rate: MobileTrans tool sends bulk content with a single click, seemingly time-saving and efficient. Exporting directly from the phone memory is relatively fast than the email chat feature, which sends only a single chat at a time.
Data loss: MobileTrans tool does not involve any data loss issues whatsoever or compromise the chat history. The email chat feature also has rare cases of data loss. On the other hand, exporting WhatsApp data directly from phone memory can sometimes have data loss events.
Prior knowledge: When using the MobileTrans - WhatsApp transfer tool, you are provided with an easy follow the wizard to guide you through the transfer process. You don’t need to have prior knowledge because the instructions are unique and clear. Email chat feature requires you to be familiar with the WhatsApp environment and its controls. When exporting WhatsApp data directly from the phone memory, you need to know the location of the content and controls in your computer.
Conclusion
Following the discussions in the above content, you can easily restore your old WhatsApp chats in case you skipped to restore. The methods are described in detail to help you achieve the task with convenience. You only need to pay attention to the approach to ensure you get all your desired messages from the local storage. And if you are looking to backup your WhatsApp content to a computer, MobileTrans WhatsApp transfer is an incredible tool to help you achieve the task conveniently.
The steps involved during the backup process are precise and straightforward. Furthermore, you don’t have to worry about the safety of your data.
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How to restore WhatsApp chat history on Android and iOS
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If you have deleted WhatsApp conversations, you can restore them in a few steps.
We tell you what you can do on an iPhone and an Android smartphone.
In the article we consider proven methods of information recovery. Click on the link to go directly to the point of interest.
One of the reliable and easy ways to restore information in WhatsApp is to use third-party software. But it often requires rooting, and rooting a smartphone is quite risky (read why). Therefore, it is worth looking for programs that can work with standard firmware. For example, Tenorshare UltData.
The program works simply: you need to run it and click the "Restore WhatsApp data" button.
Then connect the smartphone to the computer with a cable. Before doing this, it is advisable to make a backup copy of messages - just in case.
Although root rights are not required, you need to open access to the developer menu.
This is safe (if you do not change the parameters manually). Usually you need to go along the path "Settings> System> About phone" and press your finger on "Build number" until a message appears about entering the mode.
If you haven't created a backup, the program will prompt you to do it yourself. After a few steps, you will see deleted messages and pictures - you can restore them by clicking on the appropriate button.
In the same way, you can restore correspondence on iPhone / iPad, including using a backup copy on iCloud. To do this, you will need to download Ultdata iOS.
Perhaps the easiest way to save your WhatsApp history is to automatically create a backup in the cloud. All you need is a Google account and access to Google Drive. If you haven't linked the cloud to WhatsApp yet, follow these steps:
Now, if you lose your data or your smartphone, you can easily reinstall WhatsApp and start restoring via Google Drive. To do this, follow the recovery instructions when setting up WhatsApp.
If you have deleted some or all of your chat history, you can quickly restore it.
Delete WhatsApp from your smartphone. When reinstalling, click the "Restore" option. The latest backup copy of the messenger data will be loaded. However, do not forget that messages received or sent during the current day will not be completely restored.
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How to recover deleted messages in WhatsApp
If you have not linked a Google account to create a backup, you have a second option. To do this, the correspondence should not be older than 7 days - any message deleted before that will not be restored.
To restore chat history on your iPhone, Documents and Data must be enabled in iCloud settings. In the WhatsApp menu under "Chats Backup" you can see the time when the last copy was made. To restore chats, simply uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp. Use the same phone number as before and follow the instructions in the app itself.
If you're not offered a backup, your iCloud storage may have been full and no backups were being saved. In this case, recovery will not be possible. Therefore, we advise you to delete unnecessary files from the cloud in time so that there is always space on it.
Read more about creating backup copies of data from your smartphone here.
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More and more users are using WhatsApp which allows you to send unlimited messages and chat with people anytime and anywhere.
But sometimes data is lost due to some reason. Whether they were deleted by mistake, or there was a problem with the phone, the Whatsapp chat history disappeared, but sometimes, they were not deleted permanently. So how to recover whatsapp chat history on android device ? In this article, we will discuss 3 effective methods.
If you haven't made a backup, how to recover deleted whatsapp chat history without backups? Don't worry, Tenorshare UltData for Android special utility will help you! This is a program that can recover deleted Whatsapp messages, photos, videos on Android. Besides, it will also recover lost contacts, photos on Android devices like Samsung, Huawei, LG, Xiaomi.
Now let's see how to restore chat history in WhatsApp using it:
Run the program and click on the option "Restore WhatsApp data"; then connect your Android device with a USB cable to your computer;
Then enable USB debugging as instructed;
The program will then detect your Android device and you will be taken to the next screen. Click the "Start" button to find the deleted WhatsApp data on your device;
Sign in to your WhatsApp account on your device. If you have already done so, click the "Yes, I want to continue" button;
Note: To avoid data loss, follow the on-screen instructions to backup WhatsApp;
After making a backup, UltData for Android will start scanning WhatsApp data on your device;
After scanning, all WhatsApp data will be displayed, including deleted data.
Select your chat history and then click the Restore button. Then your chat histories are restored to your computer.
You first need to determine that you have already saved a copy of your chat history to Google Drive. To successfully restore a Google Drive backup, you must use the same phone number and Google account that you used to create the backup.
If you install WhatsApp and have never backed up to Google Drive, WhatsApp will actually automatically restore files from local backups on your phone. Therefore, you can also restore Whatsapp chat history from a local backup. But note that your phone only stores local backup data for the last seven days.
And so you learned how to restore chat history in whatsapp on Android.
How to restore chat history in WhatsApp? I think you already know the answer.
