WhatsApp users on Android can save a backup of their data and contacts to Google Drive. This can be particularly useful if you lose your smartphone, when purchasing a new device, or in the event of a malware attack. Learn how to use this backup feature.
Quick Guide: Create WhatsApp Backup with Google Drive
- Open WhatsApp.
- Go to “More options” (three-dot menu) then “ Settings « .
- Select the options “ Discussions » And » Saving chats « .
- In » Google account », choose the account on which you wish to make backups, then define their frequency and finally click on “ To safeguard « .
Why is a WhatsApp backup useful?
WhatsApp not only contains personal data, but also many important contacts: losing all of this can be annoying. Restoration takes a long time, if at all, when the Chat histories, contacts and stored media have not been saved. You can avoid this by taking a backup of WhatsApp via Google Drive. This way you can easily restore your data when reinstalling WhatsApp.
A WhatsApp backup helps ensure that even in the event of a sudden loss of the smartphone, hardware failure, malware infection or a new purchase, the important WhatsApp data are not only saved in the application or on the smartphone, but also in the Google Cloud.
WhatsApp backups don't exhaust Google storage
Google Drive users will wonder: doesn't this use up the Drive's storage? The answer is no. WhatsApp backups are not deducted from the Drive data quota and are not counted against your storage if you sync other data with Google Drive.
Advice
Google Drive cloud storage is just one of the many collaboration tools offered by Google. IONOS offers different enterprise pricing for Google Workspace, including all Google Workspace apps and personal support.
Requirements to Backup WhatsApp to Google Drive
The following conditions must be met for a WhatsApp backup to Google Drive:
- This feature is only available on Android.
- You must have a active Google account on your smartphone.
- Google Play Services must be activated on the smartphone.
- You must have sufficient storage space.
- You must have a stable internet connection.
Advice
For backups and data protection, IONOS offers its highly secure HiDrive online storage system.
Create WhatsApp backup with Google Drive
How to Create WhatsApp Backup with Google Drive in Just Few Steps?
Step 1 : open WhatsApp on your smartphone; Tap the three-dot icon at the top right, then tap “ More options » at the bottom right.
Step 2 : press “ Settings « .
Step 3 : click on “ Discussions » in your account settings.
Step 4 : in “Discussions”, go to “ Saving chats » down.
Step 5 : then go to “ Google account » to configure your backup.
Step 6 : Under « Google Account », also set the Gmail address you want to use for WhatsApp backup to Google Drive.
Step 7 : In the menu window, now select theinterval to which you want to create a backup on Google Drive or indicate whether you want to configure the backup manually (under “Only when I press “Back up””).
Step 8 : in “Back up via”, indicate whether you want to backup to the Cloud via the Wi-Fi or mobile data.
Step 9 : click “Backup” to create the backup. Depending on the interval you choose, WhatsApp saves backups daily, weekly, or monthly, or only when you manually tap “Backup.”
Note
iPhone users should note that WhatsApp backups are not saved in Google Drive, but in iCloudTHE Apple cloud computing service. The procedure, however, is almost identical.
Restore data with WhatsApp backup
Restoring your data with WhatsApp backup is simple.
- Uninstall WhatsApp and reinstall the app again.
- Open the app and confirm your phone number.
- As soon as the restore prompt appears, tap “ Restore « .
Find and manage WhatsApp backups in Google Drive
WhatsApp backups can only be restored and opened in WhatsApp. This means that the backup cannot be used outside of WhatsApp and is only used for data recovery. Note that backups are only saved if you continue to use your device. Backups are automatically deleted after 57 days of inactivity of the device. For the Drive, backups that have not been renewed since one year are deleted.
You can find your WhatsApp data backup in Google Drive as follows:
- Go to your Google Drive app or sign in to drive.google.com.
- Tap the three horizontal lines on the left.
- Go to “Backups”. There you will find your latest WhatsApp backups.
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