How to restore deleted chats on whatsapp

Restoring deleted chats on WhatsApp depends on whether you have backups enabled and the type of device you’re using (Android or iOS). Here’s how you can attempt to restore your deleted chats:

For Android Users:

1. Check for Google Drive Backup:
   • WhatsApp typically backs up your chats to Google Drive automatically (daily, weekly, or monthly depending on your settings).
   • To restore from Google Drive:
     1. Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp on your device.
     2. Open WhatsApp and verify your phone number.
     3. Once verified, WhatsApp will prompt you to restore your chat history from Google Drive.
     4. Tap Restore to begin the restoration process.
     5. After the process is complete, tap Next, and your chats will appear once initialization is done.
2. Restore from Local Backup (if no Google Drive backup is available):
   • WhatsApp also creates local backups on your phone’s storage every night, which are kept for 7 days.
   • To restore from local backup:
     1. Find and navigate to your local backup folder:
        /WhatsApp/Databases/ in your phone’s internal storage.
     2. You’ll see backup files with names like msgstore-yyyy-mm-dd.1.db.crypt12 (where yyyy-mm-dd represents the date).
     3. Rename the most recent backup file to msgstore.db.crypt12.
     4. Uninstall WhatsApp and reinstall it.
     5. Once you verify your phone number, WhatsApp will prompt you to restore from the local backup.
   Note: Local backups are only stored for 7 days, so if the chat was deleted more than 7 days ago, this method may not work.
3. Check WhatsApp Web (if synced):
   • If you have WhatsApp Web or Desktop set up and synced with your phone, some chat history might still be accessible from there, even if deleted on the phone.

For iPhone Users:

1. Restore from iCloud Backup:
   • WhatsApp on iPhone typically backs up chats to iCloud.
   • To restore from iCloud:
     1. Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp from the App Store.
     2. Open WhatsApp and verify your phone number.
     3. WhatsApp will prompt you to restore chat history from iCloud.
     4. Tap Restore Chat History and wait for the process to finish.
2. Restore from iTunes Backup (if available):
   • If you have an iTunes backup of your entire device, you can restore your iPhone to that backup, which may include your deleted WhatsApp chats.
   • To restore from iTunes Backup:
     1. Connect your iPhone to the computer and open iTunes (or Finder if using macOS Catalina or later).
     2. Select your iPhone and click Restore Backup.
     3. Choose the backup that may contain the deleted chats and follow the prompts.

Important Notes:

• Backup Timing: Chats can only be restored if they were included in the backup. If you didn’t back up your chats before they were deleted, it may not be possible to recover them.
• No Backup, No Restore: If you have never enabled Google Drive (Android) or iCloud (iPhone) backup, and the chats were deleted without any local backup, it may not be possible to recover the deleted chats.
• Overwritten Backups: If you’ve already made a new backup after deleting the chats, that new backup may overwrite the old backup, making it impossible to recover the deleted messages.

Prevent Future Chat Loss:

• Enable Backup: Ensure that Google Drive (Android) or iCloud (iPhone) backups are enabled and set to automatically back up your chats at regular intervals.
• Manual Backups: You can also manually create a backup by going to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup and tapping Back Up on both Android and iOS.