How to back up WhatsApp online: Google Account on Android, iCloud on iPhone
Back up WhatsApp online from Settings, Chats, Chat backup: Android saves to your Google Account, iPhone to iCloud. What it holds, the schedule, encryption.
- Written by
- By WavesFlo team
- Published
- Published
- Reading time
- 2 min read
To back up WhatsApp online, open Settings, Chats, Chat backup and tap Back up, or Back up now on iPhone. Android saves the backup to the Google Account you choose and iPhone saves it to iCloud. Choose a daily schedule, decide whether to include videos, and consider end-to-end encryption. WhatsApp Web and the desktop apps cannot make backups.
| Item | In the backup? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Messages in chats, groups and communities | Yes | Only up to the moment the backup ran |
| Photos, voice messages and documents | Yes | Media sent and received in your chats |
| Videos | Only if Include videos is on | They restore only if the setting was on before your latest backup |
| View once media | Only if unopened | Once opened, it is left out |
| Disappearing messages | Only if not yet gone | They are deleted when you restore |
| Locked chats | Yes | They stay locked after a restore |
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 do you back up on Android?
- Tap the three-dot menu, then Settings, Chats, Chat backup.
- Tap Back up to your Google Account and choose a schedule other than Never. Daily suits most people.
- Select the Google Account to use, or add one.
- Choose whether to include videos and whether to back up over cellular data.
- Tap Back up to make the first copy now, with the phone on charge.
What about space?
The backup counts against your Google Account storage on Android and your iCloud storage on iPhone. If the upload fails, free space in the account, not just on the phone. The iPhone steps, encryption and storage are in how to back up WhatsApp chats.
A backup protects one phone's history; a team answering customers on several numbers also needs to know who is handling which chat. WavesFlo keeps those conversations in a shared inbox that keeps an owner on every conversation, for as long as the retention period you choose.
Questions
Where does WhatsApp back up to?
To your Google Account on Android and to iCloud on iPhone.
Can I back up WhatsApp from the computer?
No. WhatsApp Web and the desktop apps cannot make backups.
Does a backup include videos?
Only if Include videos is on.