How to back up WhatsApp chats on Android and iPhone

To back up WhatsApp, open Settings → Chats → Chat backup and tap Back up, or Back up now on iPhone. Android saves the backup to your Google Account and iPhone saves it to iCloud. Then set a daily schedule, decide whether to include videos, and consider end-to-end encryption. WhatsApp Web and the desktop apps can't make backups.

A backup is what gets your chats back after a lost phone, a factory reset or a reinstall. This guide covers what it holds, the steps on each phone, encryption, storage and timing. To bring chats onto a new phone, see how to restore a WhatsApp backup.

What does a WhatsApp backup include?

Your messages and the media in them, from individual chats, groups and communities. A few things are optional, and a few are only partly covered:

A backup is a single copy, not a history: each new one replaces the last, and anything sent after it is lost. That is why the schedule matters.

How to back up WhatsApp on Android

Android backs up to the Google Account you choose. Before the first backup, check that the phone has a Google Account signed in, Google Play services installed, enough free space on the phone and in the Google Account, and a steady connection, ideally Wi-Fi. Then:

1. 1Tap the three-dot menu, then Settings → Chats → Chat backup.
2. 2Tap Back up to your Google Account and choose a schedule other than Never or Only when I tap Back up. Daily is the one most people should pick.
3. 3Select the Google Account to use, or tap Add account and sign in.
4. 4Choose whether to turn on Include videos, Back up using cellular and Include status archive.
5. 5Tap Back up to make the first copy now.

With a daily schedule, WhatsApp copies your chats to Google every night after the phone's own local backup. The first upload can take a while, so leave the phone on charge. Leave Back up using cellular off unless your data plan has room, because backups can be large. To switch accounts, go to Chat backup → Google Account, add the new one, then run a backup so it holds a copy.

How to back up WhatsApp on iPhone

On iPhone, WhatsApp backs up to iCloud. Sign in to iCloud with iCloud Drive turned on and WhatsApp allowed to use it, under Settings → your name → iCloud → iCloud Drive. WhatsApp asks for free space of at least 2.05 times the backup's size, both in iCloud and on the iPhone. Then:

1. 1In WhatsApp, tap Settings or your profile picture, then Chats → Chat backup.
2. 2Tap Back up now for an immediate backup.
3. 3Tap Auto backup and choose how often it runs.
4. 4Choose whether to turn on Include videos and Include status archive.

WhatsApp can also be saved inside the iPhone's own iCloud Backup. Using both means two copies in iCloud, and the device copy isn't covered by WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption; once you turn on encrypted backup in WhatsApp, chat history is left out of it. To exclude WhatsApp, go to Settings → your name → iCloud → Manage Account Storage → Backups, tap this iPhone and turn WhatsApp off.

Should you turn on end-to-end encrypted backup?

Yes, as long as you won't lose the key. A normal Google Account or iCloud backup isn't protected by WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption. With encryption on, neither WhatsApp nor Google or Apple can read the backup; only your passkey, password or 64-digit key opens it.

1. 1Open WhatsApp's Settings → Chats → Chat backup → End-to-end encrypted backup.
2. 2Tap Turn on, then Create a passkey and follow the prompts.
3. 3Or tap More options to use a password or a 64-digit encryption key instead.
4. 4Keep the password or key somewhere other than the phone, such as a password manager.

WhatsApp added encrypted backups in 2021 and passkeys in October 2025. A passkey lets your fingerprint, face or screen lock open the backup, and needs Android 9 or later with a screen lock, or iOS 18 or later. The trade-off is unforgiving: lose access to your account and forget the password or key, and the backup can't be opened, because WhatsApp can't reset it. While WhatsApp still works on your phone, you can set a new password under End-to-end encrypted backup → Change password → I forgot my password.

How much storage does a WhatsApp backup use?

Backups live in your cloud storage, so they compete with your photos and email. Older guides say WhatsApp backups on Google Drive don't count towards your storage; that is out of date. Google now lists WhatsApp backups on Android among the things that use your Google Account storage, which includes up to 15 GB free, shared across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos. iCloud gives you 5 GB free.

To keep a backup small, turn off Include videos if you don't need videos restored, and clear large files under Settings → Storage and data → Manage storage, or in a chat by tapping its name and then Manage storage. If the phone itself is full, WhatsApp storage full covers what to delete first.

How often should you back up WhatsApp?

Daily, for most people. A backup only protects messages up to the moment it ran, and there is only one copy, so a longer interval can cost you days or weeks of chats. Run a manual backup as well before you uninstall WhatsApp, reset the phone or move to a new one, and let it finish before you wipe anything.

If WhatsApp is where your work happens, the stakes are higher: GST invoices, UPI payment screenshots and customer orders all live in chats, and a phone dropped in a Mumbai monsoon takes them with it. If received photos aren't reaching your gallery either, WhatsApp images not showing explains the settings involved.

Can you back up WhatsApp from WhatsApp Web or desktop?

No. WhatsApp Web and the Windows and Mac apps are linked devices: they can't create or restore backups, so every backup runs on the phone. The nearest alternative is Export chat, in a chat's menu on the phone, which sends that chat as a text file, with or without recent media. It's a record, not a backup: WhatsApp can't import it back.

The same applies to business tools that connect a number through Linked devices, WavesFlo included: they show conversations from the moment the number was linked, not the phone's earlier history, and they don't replace the phone's backup. Connecting a number through Linked devices explains how that link works.

WhatsApp backup stuck or failing?

• Stay on one network: switching Wi-Fi networks can make a backup time out. Plug the phone in and free some space, since a phone short of storage can produce a partial backup.
• Android: sign out of your Google Account and back in, update Google Play services, check WhatsApp's Photos and videos permission is set to Allow, and on a dual-SIM phone make sure your WhatsApp SIM is active.
• iPhone: turn iCloud Drive off and on, check WhatsApp is on under Apps Syncing to iCloud Drive, and update iOS and WhatsApp. If it still fails, WhatsApp suggests deleting the old iCloud backup and starting again; your chats stay on the phone as long as you don't reinstall.