WhatsApp Local Backup: An Ultimate Guide

Part One: How to Take Local Backup on WhatsApp?

Being one of the most popular social apps out there, WhatsApp lets us take a local backup of our chats or even save it on the Drive. The local backup would be saved in the form of an encrypted file. If you want, you can restore WhatsApp local backup to the same or any other device using the backup file. The good news is that WhatsApp automatically takes a backup on the local storage daily. The default time for this is 0200 hours (2 a.m.) when the device usage is minimum.

Therefore, WhatsApp would automatically save your backup on the local device storage every night. It will store the backup of the last 7 days for our convenience and would automatically delete old backup files.

1. If you want to take an immediate backup of your WhatsApp, then just launch the app and go to its settings by tapping on the three-dot (hamburger) icon at the top.
2. In WhatsApp settings, browse to Chats > Chat Backup and tap on the "Back Up" button to take and immediate backup on Google Drive.
3. When you take a backup of WhatsApp on Google drive, a copy is automatically saved on the local storage.

Part Two: How to Restore WhatsApp from its Local Backup?

Once you have maintained a WhatsApp local backup, you can easily restore it (or even move it) at your convenience. Though, to restore WhatsApp from a local backup, you must first identify its location. Later, you can rename the backup and reinstall WhatsApp. Sounds confusing? Don’t worry – you can easily learn how to restore WhatsApp local backup by following these easy steps:

Note: This method does not work on the latest version of WhatsApp and Android 12.

1. After taking a WhatsApp backup on the local storage, you can access it by launching any File Explorer or File Manager app on the device.
2. Browse all the way to your Device Storage > WhatsApp > Databases or SD Card > WhatsApp > Databases, according to where the backup is saved.

1. Here, you can view the local WhatsApp backup of the last 7 days in the “msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db” format. Simply select any backup file from here and go its more options to rename it as “msgstore.db” by removing the respective date from the file name.

1. If you are already using WhatsApp, then just remove it from your phone, and go to the Play Store to install it again.
2. Now, launch WhatsApp and enter your existing phone number to start with. In no time, the application will automatically detect the presence of an existing backup. Just tap on the “Restore” button and wait for a while as the application would retrieve the saved data from its backup.

Part Three: How to Delete a WhatsApp Local Backup?

A lot of users choose to delete an existing WhatsApp local backup. For instance, your device might be running low on free space or you could be concerned about your privacy. Since WhatsApp maintains a local backup daily, you need to do this more often to make more free space on your phone.

1. Firstly, unlock your device and launch any file explorer app to access its SD card or internal device storage (depending on where the WhatsApp backup if stored).
2. Simply browse to the WhatsApp > Databases folder here to view the last 7 local backups stored.
3. Select the backup file you wish to get rid of and tap on the more options icon (the three-dot icon).
4. From the provided options, tap on “Delete” or the trash icon and confirm your choice to get rid of the WhatsApp backup.

I’m sure that after reading this guide, you would be able to take a local WhatsApp backup or restore it afterward. As you can see, it is pretty easy to restore WhatsApp from a local backup. Though, if you want to keep your backup safe on a computer, then take the assistance of MobileTrans - WhatsApp Transfer instead. It is an excellent tool that can backup, restore, and transfer WhatsApp data without any trouble among different sources.