2024 ANSWERED: Where Are WhatsApp Messages Stored?

By Nathan E. Malpass, Last updated: January 9, 2024

WhatsApp enables you to make backups of your messages including its photos, videos, and documents. These backups can be helpful to keep your data safe. In addition, it can be helpful for migrating to new devices. But the question is, where are WhatsApp messages stored? Where does WhatsApp store your backup files?

Here, we will discuss the answer to the question, “Where are WhatsApp messages stored”? In addition, we will talk about backing up data on iCloud or Google Drive. Finally, we will give you a WhatsApp data transferring tool that will help you easily back up WhatsApp data within your computer.

Part #1: Where Are WhatsApp Messages Stored?Part #2: Bonus Tip: Transfer WhatsApp Data Between iOS Devices Part #3: To Sum It All Up

Part #1: Where Are WhatsApp Messages Stored?

Where Does WhatsApp Store Messages And Backup Files On iOS Devices?

Where are WhatsApp messages stored? If you use iOS devices, your WhatsApp data are stored within iCloud or iTunes. They are very easy to utilize when backing up your data. You can also use it in order to restore the WhatsApp data, especially if you are going to migrate to a new device.

iTunes is a media player developed by Apple. In addition, you can use iTunes to access some of Apple’s products and services. This program enables you to perform various functions on Apple’s gadgets. The only drawback of iTunes is it is used to back up the entire iOS device. As such, it takes up a lot of time to create a WhatsApp backup here.

Here are the steps you should follow in order to back up your WhatsApp data to PC, including the entire data on your iOS device, using iTunes:

Make sure iTunes is updated to the latest version on your computer.
Connect the iOS device to your computer by using a lightning cable or any compatible USB cable.
After that, open iTunes on your computer.
On the left panel of iTunes, press the iOS device you have just connected in order to select it.
After that, press the Summary label within the panel.
Select the label that says “This Computer”.
Once you have done that, click the option that says “Back Up Now”.
Wait until the backup process is complete. Once done, you can safely eject the iOS device from your computer. By this time, you have made a backup of WhatsApp data including other contents of the iOS device.

On the other hand, you can also use iCloud to store or back up data from WhatsApp. iCloud is a cloud storage platform by Apple. The backed-up data is kept within a hidden folder on iCloud to make it secure. The backup file is encrypted as well. As such, it is not possible to launch it or open it directly.

Below are the steps you have to follow in order to back up your WhatsApp messages, including other types of data, within iCloud:

Launch the application for Settings.
Press Apple ID.
After that, select iCloud. Once you have selected it, you should toggle iCloud on to activate it.
Scroll towards the lower portion of the interface until you locate WhatsApp. After that, toggle WhatsApp and make sure it is activated.
After that, use your iPhone again to launch WhatsApp.
Within the WhatsApp application, launch Menu and then choose Settings.
Visit Chats and then go to Chats Backup.
Click the option to Back Up Now in order to start the backup process.

Where Are WhatsApp Messages Stored Within Windows PCs?

The WhatsApp desktop application and WhatsApp web aren’t identical to the mobile applications. That’s because they aren’t able to store within a particular directory in your computer. However, they are capable of storing your data within cache and log files. These directories are temporary and store data for WhatsApp on Windows PCs.

Here are the steps on how to locate these temporary files within your computer:

Launch your Windows PC File Explorer. After that, press the This PC
Within the search bar, which is usually located in the upper right portion of the interface, input WhatsApp. After that, press the button for Enter.
This may take some time. However, you should wait until it shows the log files of your WhatsApp application.

Where Does WhatsApp Store Data Within Android Devices?

Where are WhatsApp messages stored within Android devices? There are two locations where the data on WhatsApp are stored within Android devices. The first location is on your local drive (or SD card). The second location is that of the Google Drive cloud storage platform.

As you may know, the Chat History of WhatsApp is typically put into storage wthin your local drive or within Google Drive. As such, these data are backed up within the local drive or within WhatsApp when you send and receive messages.

To find the location of your WhatsApp data within the local drive, locate the following folders on your File Manager:

Launch your file manager application within your Android device.
Visit the folder called SD card (or you can check the internal storage of your Android device).
After that, go to its WhatsApp
Within the WhatsApp folder, click Databases. In this folder, you can see the backups of your chat history.

Now that you've known Where are WhatsApp messages stored within Android devices. If you wish to check out the backup within Google Drive, you can simply modify the settings to enable this feature. You simply have to activate your Google account that contains the backup. To modify its settings, check out the steps below:

Launch WhatsApp on your Android device.
On the upper right corner of the interface, click the three dots to open the Menu.
After that, click Settings within the drop-down menu that appears.
Within the Settings section, click Chats and then look for Chats Backup. Press this Chats Backup
Select the specific Google account where the backup data will be saved. After that, press the option for Back Up To Google Drive.
Select a frequency to be used as a time table for saving your backups to Google Drive.
Choose the particular Google account where the WhatsApp data will be saved. After that, click Back Up Over. In this section, select the particular network you want to use to back up our data.

Part #2: Bonus Tip: Transfer WhatsApp Data Between iOS Devices

Aside from learning Where are WhatsApp messages stored, you can also know how to transfer data between two iOS devices in this post. You can actually use a tool to directly transfer WhatsApp data between two iOS devices. For this, you will have to use FoneDog WhatsApp Transfer. This tool enables you to transfer WhatsApp data between an iPhone and another iPhone or iPad device.

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In addition, it can be used to back up and restore your WhatsApp data. Some of the data included in the transfer are messages, videos, photos, documents, and more. The features and benefits of FoneDog WhatsApp Transfer include the following:

FoneDog WhatsApp Transfer is suggested when transferring WhatsApp data to a new iPhone/iPad. WhatsApp conversations, images, videos, and music files may be transferred from one iOS device to another. Simply connect both devices to the computer and press the transfer button to begin.
WhatsApp has evolved into an indispensable companion in our daily lives. What if your WhatsApp messages are misplaced? To avoid losing WhatsApp messages on your iPhone, use FoneDog WhatsApp Transfer to backup your messages to the PC. You may restore your WhatsApp data from backup to your PC at any moment.
FoneDog WhatsApp Transfer enables you to effortlessly transfer WhatsApp messages from iOS to iOS. Back up your WhatsApp data to your PC and then restore it to your iPhone or iPad. All iPhone models and iOS versions are supported.
The tool is available on both Windows PCs and macOC computers. Thus, you don’t have to worry about the operating system you have.

Here’s how to use the tool to transfer data from one iOS device to another:

Download, Install, And Launch The Tool. First, visit FoneDog.com to download the installer of FoneDog WhatsApp Transfer. Use the downloaded package to install the tool on your computer. Then, open it on your computer.
Select Transfer Option. On the main interface of the tool, select Device-To-Device Transfer
Connect iOS Devices. Using a USB cable, you should connect the iPhone(s) or iPad(s) to the computer.
Trust The Computer. On your two iOS devices, make sure you trust the computer they’re connected to.
Click the option to Start Transfer. Wait until the process of transferring WhatsApp data is complete. By then, you can safely eject the iOS devices from the computer.

Part #3: To Sum It All Up

This guide has given you the answer to the question, where are WhatsApp messages stored. We gave you the steps you need to follow to locate WhatsApp messages and data on Android, iOS, and Windows PC.

Finally, we talked about FoneDog WhatsApp Transfer and how it can help you transfer WhatsApp data from one iOS device to another. You can also use it to back up and restore data from WhatsApp.

Grab FoneDog WhatsApp Transfer today to ensure a smooth backup, restore, and transfer process of WhatsApp data!

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