WhatsApp: How to restore your history on iPhone and Android

Changing smartphones or reinstalling WhatsApp can be a cause for concern: how can you recover your conversations, photos, and videos? Fortunately, the messaging app offers simple backup and restore solutions for both Android and iPhone. Here’s how to ensure you don’t lose any of your WhatsApp history when changing devices.

How to back up your WhatsApp history

On Android, to back up your history, make sure you have an active Google account. On iPhone, you will need to have iCloud enabled.

Android

Here’s how to back up your WhatsApp history on an Android device:

• Tap the three-dot menu,
• Then select Settings, followed by the Chats tab,
• Select Chat backup, then Back up to your Google account,
• Choose an option other than “Never” or “Only when I tap Backup,”
• Select the Google account you want to back up your history to,
• Tap Back up using mobile data.

iOS

There are several methods available on iOS, including backing up your iPhone to iCloud.

Here’s how to back up your WhatsApp history from an iPhone using the WhatsApp app on iCloud:

• Tap your profile photo,
• Select Chats, then Chat Backup, then End-to-End Encrypted Backup,
• Tap Turn On,
• Choose an access key, a 64-digit key, or create a password,
• Select Create to get your backup.

How to restore your WhatsApp history

Once your history has been backed up, if you change phones, you can easily import it into your “new” WhatsApp.

Android

Here are the steps to restore your WhatsApp history on an Android device if you have kept the same phone number:

• Install the WhatsApp app, enter your number, and accept the permissions.
• A restore screen will then appear: from the options provided, select Restore from backup.
• Tap Continue, then Restore.
• Enter your profile information, then tap Done.

iOS

Here are the steps to restore your chat history. Make sure you have kept the same phone number:

• Install the WhatsApp app, enter your number and permissions.
• A restore screen will then appear: from the options provided, select Restore from backup.
• Tap Continue, then Restore.
• Enter your profile information, then tap Done.