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How to stop whatsapp from restoring media


How to Stop WhatsApp Backup Restoring Media on iPhone/Android

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Gabriel Hammond

August 7, 2019 (Updated: June 17, 2022)

3 min read

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The automatic backup feature for WhatsApp that most users have enjoyed for years now is a great way to make sure you’re always have a backup for your WhatsApp data. You never have to worry about scheduling a backup; you just let WhatsApp backup to Google Drive or iCloud on your behalf. But under certain circumstances, this automatic backup feature can be a nuisance. Perhaps you don’t have enough storage on Google Drive or iCloud and you would rather backup WhatsApp on another platform to preserve some space on cloud services.

In this case, you need to know how to stop or disable this automatic backup. In this article, we are going to share with you several ways to do that.

  • 1. How to Stop or Disable WhatsApp Backup on iPhone
  • 2. How to Stop or Disable WhatsApp Backup on Android
  • 3. Consider A New Way to Backup WhatsApp on Computer

How to Stop or Disable WhatsApp Backup and Restoring Media on iPhone

For iOS device users, the following are just some of the methods you can use to stop or disable the automatic backup in iCloud;

Option 1. Stop iCloud WhatsApp Backup Using iPhone Settings

You can stop this automatic backup using iPhone settings. To do that, follow these simple steps;

Step 1: Open Settings on your iPhone and then tap on your name at the top.

Step 2: Tap on “iCloud” and then scroll to locate “WhatsApp”

Step 3: Toggle the switch “OFF” to disable the backup. This will stop WhatsApp from uploading data including backups to iCloud.

Option 2. Stop WhatsApp Backup and Restoring Media by Turning off network connections

Another easy way to disable this feature is to turn off network connections on the iPhone. This may however hinder other functions on the device such as preventing the iPhone from updating its software or apps.

Option 3. Disable iCloud WhatsApp Backup and Restoring Media Using WhatsApp

Follow these simple steps to disable iCloud Backup in WhatsApp;

  • Step 1: Open WhatsApp on your iPhone and then go to “Settings”
  • Step 2: Tap on “Chats” and then “Chat Backup”
  • Step 3: Now tap on “Auto Backup” and then select “Off”. WhatsApp will now stop backing up on iCloud. You can follow the same steps to turn on the feature again.

How to Stop or Disable WhatsApp Backup and Restoring Media on Android

For Android devices, the following as just some of the ways to disable the WhatsApp automatic backup;

Option 1. Stop WhatsApp Backupand Restoring Media on Android Using Google Drive

Follow these simple steps to stop the WhatsApp Backup on Android using Google Drive;

  • Step 1: In your device, open the Google Drive app and the tap on the three dots at the top left corner of the screen.
  • Step 2: From the options presented, tap on “Backups”
  • Step 3: Tap on the three dots again in front of “WhatsApp Backup”
  • Step 4: Choose “Turn off this Backup”. WhatsApp will no longer automatically backup to Google Drive.

Option 2. Stop WhatsApp Backup by Turning off Network Connections

Another easy way to stop the automatic backup is to turn off network connections. Since WhatsApp can only backup over a Wi-Fi or cellular data connection, turning these off will stop the backup. But doing this may also interfere with other functions on the device.

Option 3. Disable WhatsApp Backup on Android using WhatsApp

You can also easily disable the backup on Android from within the app itself. Here’s how to do it;

  • Step 1: Open WhatsApp on your device and then tap on the three dots at the top right corner of the screen.
  • Step 2: Tap on “Settings” and select “Chats”.
  • Step 3: Now tap on “Chat Backup” and under “Google Drive Settings” tap on “Back up to Google Drive. ”
  • Step 4: Choose “Never” and WhatsApp will stop backing up data to the Google Drive.

A New Way to Backup WhatsApp and Restoring Media on Computer

You may be looking for a more convenient way to back up your WhatsApp data, one that will not affect the storage space on your device or cloud storage. Lucky for you we have solution that can do that and more and one that is also very easy to use. iTransor WhatsApp Transfer as a WhatsApp management tool will allow you to transfer WhatsApp directly between iPhone and Android devices without phone system restrictions easily. Both WhatsApp Messenger and WhatsApp Business are supported. You can also use it to backup all your WhatsApp data to computer, restore the iPhone or Android backup back to an iPhone or Android device flexibly and even export the backup to computer as an html or xls/csv file.

To use iTransor for WhatsApp to create a complete backup of your WhatsApp data, follow these simple steps;

Step 1: Download and Install iTransor for WhatsApp on your computer and then launch the program.

Free Download

Step 2: On the main window, click on “Backup WhatsApp on Devices” to begin the process. Connect the device to the computer using an USB cable and wait for the program to detect the device. As soon as the program recognizes the device, the backup process will begin immediately. All you have to do is keep the device connected until the process is complete.

Step 3: You can find the backup you just made from the homescreen of "Restore WhatsApp to Devices" tab. Restore the backup to either an iPhone or Android device in the future as you need.

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WhatsApp doesn't prompt to restore from local storage

Asked

Modified 3 months ago

Viewed 62k times

I ran into this weird situation, where:

  1. I backed up my WhatsApp to local storage, inside the Databases folder

  2. Then I changed my WhatsApp number (to another new SIM)

  3. Format my HTC Phone (HTC One E9+ Dual SIM).

  4. Copy back all WhatsApp folder back to the Internal Storage

  5. Re-install WhatsApp, but, all it asks me is this (below)

    Upon "Skip", nothing, no chat restored.

I have already renamed the database file as per Restoring your chat history to msgstore.db.crypt12 and also kept the same file with the name msgstore.db.crypt. But, it simply, doesn't even detect it & asks nothing as backup found/restore.

Any guess/idea?

  • whatsapp-messenger
  • restore

0

Disclaimer: this solution is offered to those who as myself found this post via googling for "whatsapp not restoring local backup", I have not changed my number.

I've tried giving permissions before Whatsapp starting as advised in other answer, but to no success, restarted my phone - again no success. But then I noted "Whatsapp" folder as seen by android file manager contains only "Media" folder, whereas to my Linux mounted drive I copied all folders, which gave me a clue. I copied all "whatsapp" previous phone folder to some folder on the "new" phone via laptop and copied from there to "whatsapp" folder via internal android file manager app. Then Whatsapp found backup. Looks in my case the issue might have been with Linux-Android USB link.

ADDED: Android 11 release issue and solution:

WhatsApp is now in [Internal storage]/Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Databases - that you can check for yourself after installing it on a new phone (install first - not run yet, then copy files from old phone over to new one in that new folder, then start WhatsApp on new phone).

3

Android 11 release issue and solution:

In my case, after backing up the WhatsApp folder via USB and restoring it using the same method to the new phone, I discovered that WhatsApp was unable to find the backup in the path /data/media/0/WhatsApp (which is mapped to USB on my Android 11 Pixel 4a as "Internal Storage").

Moving the folder instead to /data/media/0/Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp did the trick for me. No permission changes were necessary. I did this via a root shell on a custom ROM, but it should also be possible on a regular phone to simply recreate the folder structure using the USB connection:

  • Force close WhatsApp
  • Go into app settings and clear WhatsApp's storage
  • Via USB, create Android folder if it's missing
  • Create media subfolder if it's missing
  • Create com.whatsapp subfolder if it's missing
  • Copy your WhatsApp folder to the com.whatsapp subfolder

0

I had problems with this too, and today finally it worked. I'm not sure which of the following additional steps did the trick, so I'll list both:

  1. I copied the entire WhatsApp folder over from the old phone to the new one (apparently the asker already did this).
  2. After installing WhatsApp, I gave the app all possible permissions before running it: under Settings/Apps, select WhatsApp, tap Permissions, and then select all permissions listed under "denied" and tap "allow" (you can revoke the permissions again after the backup is succesfully restored).

After doing this, running WhatsApp and confirming my phone number, I was finally prompted to restore the local backup. Before that, I had selected "give permission" in the popup from the screenshot above, then approved the permissions it asked for, but apparently this is only for the Google Drive restore. It looks like restoring a local backup only works if the permissions are already present?!

3

If your backup was made when you had a different phone number than the one you currently have, you will not be able to restore it. As found on https://faq.whatsapp.com/en/android/20887921/#restore

Restoring or transferring a backup

WhatsApp will ask you to restore your chats and media from a backup once you verify your number. Simply tap RESTORE when prompted to. If WhatsApp doesn't detect a backup, it could be because:

  • You aren't logged into the same Google account.
  • You aren't using the same phone number that was used to create the backup.
  • Your SD card or chat history is corrupted.
  • A backup file doesn't exist on the Google Drive account or locally on your phone.

Note: The easiest way to transfer data to a new phone is by using Google Drive. If you want to use a local backup, you'll need to transfer the files to the new phone using a computer, file explorer or SD Card. If your data isn't stored on the /sdcard/WhatsApp/ folder, you might see "internal storage" or "main storage" folders.

2

rob74's answer works.

With respect to this website, I will add icing above the cake for others with a similar problem - referencing to the asker step one to five - the right sequence should be:

  1. (2) I changed my Whatsapp Number (to another new SIM). Link: Change WhatsApp number
  2. (1) I backed up my Whatsapp to local storage, inside the Databases Folder
  3. (3) Format my HTC Phone (HTC One E9+ Dual SIM).
  4. (4) Copy back all Whatsapp Folder back to the Internal Storage
  5. Here, I use the solution number (2) from rob74

The option to restore from local data will pop up, just hit OK and done, continue like usual

For those with new phones:

  1. In the new phone, I install WhatsApp just so I know where to paste the copied data
  2. Uninstall WhatsApp. Even though it gave a warning that all data will be erased, it didn't erase my copied data.
  3. Same with above

1

Disclaimer: This is based on my personal experience and it is NOT official. If you like to use it, do at your own risk.

In addition to all the pervious answers, and if WhatsApp ignored the local backup after cancelling google drive backup, one can try this:

When WhatsApp asks for google drive backup:

1- Close WhatsApp.
2- Put phone on flight mode.
3- Run WhatsApp again.
4- When asks for google drive Skip.
5- Now Local backup should be recognized.
6- Reconnect to the Internet.
7- Go on and restore the local backup.

It is important that you use the same phone number to restore, so either:

1- Change the phone number on the old phone before the backup. or,
2- Use the old phone number to restore then change it on the new phone.

How to disable Whatsapp backup

The interface of the popular messenger raises many questions among people, and one of them is this: how to disable WhatsApp backup? And it should be noted right away that this option is disabled by default in the application, but it can be accidentally turned on - for example, by selecting a specific time in the window that appears on the screen. It allows you to activate automatic data saving, which can occur once a day, month or week. But using the standard settings, it will be possible to remove the backup in WhatsApp on iPhone or Android, and we will talk about this further. nine0003

How do I disable WhatsApp data backup?

Let's start with the fact that backup is saving data from the messenger on special servers. For example, on an Android phone, everything is transferred to Google Drive, and on an iPhone, everything is transferred to iCloud. There is also archiving of chats when the archive with data is located directly in the internal memory of the device. We have compiled instructions for different operating systems, so choose the one that suits you.

It's interesting: recover deleted photos on Android. nine0003

On Android

By default, all saved data is uploaded to the cloud storage, from where it can be retrieved later. And on a smartphone or tablet running the Android operating system, you can cancel the backup in WhatsApp as follows:

    1. Open the messenger application.
    2. Click on the three dots located in the corner of the screen.
    3. In the list that appears, select the "Settings" option. nine0020
    4. Go to the "Chats" section.
    5. Go to the Chat Backup tab.
    6. Click on the item "Backup to Google Drive", and in the menu that opens, select "Never".

Also on this page you can specify a specific account, as well as disable the creation of copies when using mobile Internet.

As a result, you managed to disable WhatsApp backup on Android. Now your chat history and media files will not automatically get into the cloud storage. And if you decide to save the data archive, you will have to do it manually. Here we will answer whether it is possible to make the details of WhatsApp messages. nine0003

On the iPhone

As for iOS devices, all created saves are transferred to iCloud, from where, if necessary, they can be easily obtained. And if you are interested in how to remove WhatsApp backup on iPhone, then pay attention to the step-by-step instructions:

    1. Open the messenger application.
    2. Click on the "Settings" icon located in the bottom panel.

  1. nine0016
  2. Go to the "Chats" section, and then go to the "Copy" tab.

    1. Select "Automatically", after which we mark the option "Never".

  1. Save the changes by returning to the previous page.


And after reading the provided guide, you know how to cancel WhatsApp backup. But note that all previously created data archives will remain in the iCloud cloud storage. If necessary, you can delete them manually. nine0003

Optional: Welcome message to business profile - texts and examples.

How to disable local backup in WhatsApp?

But you also need to remember that in the messenger it is possible to create an archive with the chat history, which will be saved locally - directly in the internal storage of the device. And in this case, people may ask a similar question: backup pops up in WhatsApp, how to remove it? How to free up the space occupied on the device? To do this, use the step-by-step guide:

  1. Open File Explorer on your smartphone.
  2. Go to WhatsApp folder.
  3. We find the Backups directory, where all archives from Vatsap are stored.
  4. Select it, and then click on the "Delete" button.
  5. We confirm the action.

You can also stop the automatic transfer of all pictures from chats to the gallery. Formally, they will remain in the smartphone's explorer, but they will not be displayed in the thematic album. To apply this setting, do the following:

    1. Open WhatsApp.
    2. Go to settings and select "Chats".
    3. Move the slider to the left next to the Media Visibility line.

As a result, you have successfully managed to disable the display of media files from the messenger in the phone gallery.

Thus, we have examined in detail how to stop copying WhatsApp messages to Google Drive or iCloud. We also found out whether it is possible to disable archiving of chats and automatic transfer of photos to the gallery of a mobile device. In general, we figured out how to set up WhatsApp and remove copying of media files. Still have questions? Then ask them in the comments! And here we will explain whether it is possible to check the remote correspondence. nine0003

How to turn off automatic chat backup in WhatsApp?

WhatsApp is the most widely used instant messaging app with over 1 billion daily active users. As a WhatsApp user, you also face annoying chat backups. These chat backups limit the activity of the application during execution and hence you need to wait for them to complete. The time it takes to create these chat backups depends on the file size and your internet speed. In this article, we will show you the ways by which you can turn off those annoying chat backups. nine0003

WhatsApp chat backup:

Let's first start with why these backups exist and why WhatsApp forces you to backup your chats. The idea behind these backups is very simple.

C The social networking app makes copies of all your chats and media files and saves them both internally and in the cloud.

Then whenever you delete the app from your phone, switch your phone, or even reinstall the app, you can restore all your previous chats and media using these backups. Without these backups, you will lose all your chats and media files. nine0003


Whatsapp Backup Types:

WhatsApp has two types of chat backups.

  • Local Backup
  • Cloud Backup

Local Backup As the name suggests, back up all your chats and media files to your device's internal storage, and this happens every day.

Cloud Backup As the name suggests, back up all your WhatsApp data to cloud storage like Google Drive and iCloud. When you install this instant messaging app, it asks you to choose how often you want to back up to the cloud. You can choose "Never" only when I click "Backup", daily, weekly or monthly.

Read also:
How to add captions to your Instagram stories?

How do I delete local chat backups? nine0123

Local chat backups take up a significant portion of your internal storage as well as application storage. There are ways to delete these backups. Also, these backups do not overwrite each other and multiple backups are created each time. You can delete local backup files from internal storage in the following ways.

Delete backups manually:

Go to your device's file manager and click on internal storage / phone storage. nine0003

In the internal memory / phone memory you will find the WhatsApp folder at the bottom of all folders.

Open the WhatsApp folder. In it you will find a folder called " Databases ".

In the Databases folder, you will see all the local WhatsApp backup files. All of these backup files are listed with their size and date. The date reflects when this backup will take place, with the top file being the most recent. nine0003

Click on these data files one by one and manually delete them if you no longer need them. You can also keep the latest one and delete the rest of the files to free up internal storage.

Permanently Disable Local Chat Automatic Backup:

The above method is manual and you have to repeat it whenever you want to delete a backup from internal storage. But there is another way to permanently disable automatic chat backups. nine0003

To do this, go to the same WhatsApp folder on your device's internal storage. Click on the three-dot icon in the top left corner and create a new folder.

Then press and hold the folder you just created until the options appear on the display.

Then click on the three dots again and click on the compress to make it a zip file.

Click Compress Current Folder.

You will be prompted to rename the file. nine0003

Rename the file to "Databases". Make sure you don't type ".zip" at the end of the databases.

This method will prevent you from automatically creating a local WhatsApp backup using your internal storage.

Disable cloud backup:

WhatsApp also creates a cloud backup based on the frequency selected by users.

Learn more