What does it mean to archive a chat on WhatsApp? Where is the chat history (archive) stored on WhatsApp?

WhatsApp is a wonderful messenger that is already used by several hundred million people. With the help you can communicate both in individual and group chat modes. If there are too many similar chats, they can be archived - that is, packed into a special archive. And then vice versa - unzip. This function is useful if you need to restore old correspondence with a friend. Naturally, the question arises, how to unarchive a chat on WhatsApp? It is also important to remember that archived messages cannot be deleted or saved for later transfer to an SD card. For this you will need the “Unarchive” function. But first, it wouldn’t hurt to remind you how...

How to archive a chat on WhatsApp?

The process is actually not too complicated, although not many people are familiar with it. You need to carry out the following sequence of actions:

  • Login to WhatsApp;
  • Select the desired chat that you want to archive;
  • Long press on this chat;
  • In the menu that opens, select “Archive chat.”

Now correspondence will be better organized, and not a single message will be lost in virtual oblivion.

How to unzip?

But periodically there is a need for the reverse process - unzipping. To unarchive messages, you will need to do the following:

  • Login to WhatsApp;
  • Scroll down the Chats screen;
  • Find the item “Archived”;
  • Find the desired correspondence and long press on it;
  • Select “Unzip” from the menu.

How to archive and unarchive all existing chats?

In addition to individual ones, you can carry out the processes of archiving and unarchiving all existing chats at once. To do this you need:

  • Login to WhatsApp;
  • On the Chats screen, press the Menu button;
  • Go to Settings and click “Chats and calls”;
  • On the screen, select “Archive all chats”.

To unarchive all messages, you need to do a similar operation with the only difference being that you will need to click “Unarchive all chats”. When you receive a message in some archived correspondence, it will appear again. But you shouldn’t hope to read messages by unpacking the archive from a file manager using some archiver: for example, RAR archives of WhatsApp correspondence have nothing to do with the usual archives.

For Windows Phone

For other operating systems other than Android OS, the principle of operation will be similar with some differences in the icons and names of menu items. For example, on Windows Phone, you will first need to select the icon with three vertical dots, with which you can get to additional settings and functions, and then: Advanced - Archived chats. Then you need to select the desired item and hold it pressed for a while. Then in the new menu that opens, select “From archive”. The archiving feature is available in iOS 7 and later. This feature is not available in lower iOS operating systems.

Using the WhatsApp archive allows you to remove unnecessary or currently unused dialogs from the messenger. This is considered an option for organizing data within an application.

This function is not a method for clearing WhatsApp or creating a backup copy of data for an Android or iOS device. It is intended only for temporarily hiding messages with the subsequent possibility of restoring them. You also won’t be able to convert your dialogs to local view using it. For this purpose, the “Send by email” function is used.

Using the function

Archiving messages with an individual or group of people works differently for Android and iOS mobile devices. Let's consider each of the options.

Option 1: Android

You can send one chat to the archive from the context menu, called up by long tapping on it (the icon next to calling up the settings). Select the appropriate item. It looks like a box with a downward arrow drawn on it. Evidence of success will be the disappearance of correspondence from the general list.

If you want to hide all chats, then from the first tab of the application, click on the icon with three dots. From there call "Settings".Now follow the path "Chats - Chat History". In this section there will be a button to create a hiding of all correspondence.

The WhatsApp archive on Android can be easily restored. To do this, scroll to the end of the general list of correspondences. At the very bottom there is a column "Aarchivedchats". From there the dialogues can be returned. Select the ones you need and click on the restore icon.

Option 2: iOS

Hide chats on iPhone in just a few steps. Just go to the first tab of the messenger and swipe left on the name of the group or dialogue. And then click on "To the archive". This option is convenient for masking one correspondence. If you want to remove everything at once, open the settings menu and go to the section "Chats" and tap on the item "Archive everything...".

In this case, access to messages will not be lost. To view archive data, scroll up the first tab of the messenger, and then swipe down. Then a button will appear to call up the required data.

Unarchiving occurs automatically if the user receives a new message in a previously hidden correspondence. But everything can be done manually. You can return correspondence from the menu "Archive", instructions for accessing which are written in the paragraph above.

But there is another alternative. In the search, enter the name of the conversation, the name of the contact, or the content of the message to which you would like to return access. A list of conversations will be displayed. Swipe left on the desired inscription. And then click on "From the Archive".

Surely all users of the messenger know what the WhatsApp archive means and what role it plays. This feature allows you to optimize the workspace in the utility by hiding unnecessary chats in the system tray. Today we will look at where the Whatsapp archive is located and why it is so often searched after the appearance of the messenger web interface) - it will be interesting.

The WhatsApp archive itself is not a vulnerability and cannot be read without direct access to the account. But this does not mean that another person, while on Whatsappweb, does not know how to read past messages on Whatsapp. Unfortunately or fortunately, the service tries to save the maximum volume of messages to make it easier for users to restore correspondence after reinstalling WhatsApp. If the question arises about how to delete an archive on Whatsapp, it means that your correspondence has already been read. How to avoid this?

How do they read your correspondence?

Let's assume that the account has been synced with the web interface. For what? – to use the service from a desktop. The PC user has access to all controls for chats, etc. It takes just seconds to synchronize the web and mobile application. It will take a minimum of time to deploy all correspondence. It’s enough for you to walk away from the phone for a couple of minutes)))

  • Where is the Whatsapp archive? – it is stored for a short time on the WhatsApp server, early backups are stored in the iCloud or Google Drive cloud, or on the device’s memory card. It is impossible to get them without access to a phone. There is also good news, or bad news, for owners of iOS lower than 8.0 - the web interface is not available on these devices.
  • How to clear archive in Whatsapp? – to do this you will need to wait a while for them to disappear from the servers or delete all correspondence, group, chat.
  • How to find him on Whatsapp? – just launch the utility, go to “Settings” - “Unarchive all chats”. You can open them on the web in the same way.
  • It will be impossible to log in and view correspondence on an iPhone or any other mobile device, unless you have access to your SIM card.
  • It is also impossible to restore deleted chats without direct contact with your mobile device. A downloaded backup from the cloud, if a third party has gained access, the file will need to be decrypted on a PC, which is excluded. You also cannot save the chat and unpack it on another mobile device; a phone number is required for activation.

Conclusion

You shouldn’t look for where this function is located in WhatsApp, it has nothing to do with it. To keep your information private, just keep your profile private. You can check active sessions at: “Settings” - “WEB” (not available on older generations of iPhone), click the “Log out from all computers” button, if they are displayed in the list displayed.

Hundreds of millions of inhabitants of planet Earth use the WhatsApp messenger to communicate. Some people use it to send small portions of messages, others write almost novels to their interlocutors. The latter have a large volume of chats, which can make it difficult to navigate the application and find in it what you need at the moment. To make using the messenger more comfortable, learn how to archive a chat in WhatsApp. This skill will allow you to tidy up your correspondence storage, organize it and save it for the future.

What does it mean

Everything is very simple. A large amount of information clutters the service and makes it inconvenient to use. However, you don't want to get rid of valuable data with the assumption that it will be useful in the future. Archiving is provided for such cases. In a few clicks, what was “getting under your feet” is put on a virtual shelf, from where it can be removed at any time.

Important: the described option is not the creation of backup files and is not a way to clear the messenger. Its goal is to hide data for a certain time with the possibility of its subsequent recovery.

The message archive cannot be forwarded to other users. For these purposes, there is a “Send to e-mail” function.

How to archive chats on WhatsApp

Users can archive both group correspondence and communication with individuals. The sequence of actions depends on what operating system is installed on your device.

Archiving steps on iOS

If you want to hide correspondence on iPhone, follow this algorithm of actions:

  1. Go to the first tab of the application.
  2. Swipe left to the desired name of the dialogue or group.
  3. Click on the “Archive” command.

If you intend to archive all chats at once:

  1. Enter "Settings".
  2. Go to Chats.
  3. Tap on the “Archive all...” item.

Archived data can be viewed if necessary. To do this, scroll up the first tab and swipe down. The button that appears will allow you to call up the information you need.

Backup steps on Android

If you want to archive only one WhatsApp chat:
1.Make a long tap on the context menu.

2.Select the box symbol with an arrow pointing down.

3.Check whether the desired chat has disappeared from the general list.

If you need to hide all chats at once, do the following:
1.Click on the three dots symbol.

2.Call “Settings”.

3.Go to “Chats”.

4.Go to the “Chat History” tab.

5.Hide all correspondence by clicking on the appropriate button.

All your communication will go into the archive.

Unzipping

How to unarchive a chat on WhatsApp?
If you need to produce unzipping, on Android it's done like this:

  1. Scroll through correspondence.
  2. Find the item “Archived chats” at the very bottom.
  3. Choose the one you need.
  4. Click on the recovery icon.

On iOS unzipping happens automatically. If a new message arrives in a hidden correspondence, it will be automatically unarchived. If you need to archive it again, follow the instructions printed above.

There is another way to unzip on iOS:

  1. Find the contents of the message, the name of the conversation, or the name of the contact in the search.
  2. Swipe left on it.
  3. Click on the “From Archive” command.

Archiving and unarchiving in WhatsApp takes place in a few clicks. With these functions, you can easily put things in order in the messenger, which will make its use more pleasant and comfortable.

For many people who use WhatsApp, it remains a secret where exactly the entire array of messages, the WhatsApp archive, is stored. Archive is an incredibly useful tool when you need to revive old messages or transfer them to another phone. Most of the messengers that are popular today store user data, including the entire correspondence history, in their data centers. This solution makes it possible to compress correspondence and transfer it to any device from which an authorized user logs in. You can be sure that the creators abandoned such a decision. The entire history of your correspondence is stored exclusively on your device.

Where can I find my correspondence history?

Where can I look for my Whatsapp chat history? The answer is simple - in the memory of the device on which the application is installed and used. You can easily find the archive if you look for it either in the built-in memory of your gadget or on a memory card. Archiving occurs without user intervention, in the background and every day. There are various options for copy destination:

  • A copy can be saved to Google cloud drive. This service must be activated on your smartphone, and in its settings, in the “Chat backup” item, you must select the frequency you need;
  • If you have, then you are offered the opportunity to save in the iCloud proprietary cloud service. Select “Create a copy” in the “Chat Settings” menu item and your backup will be ready in a minute;
  • The main advantage of using cloud services for remote storage of backup copies of your correspondence is the ability to restore all saved messages even if your smartphone or other device is lost. Having a connected Google Disk or iCloud account is a prerequisite to use this feature.

Where can I look for saved chat history directly on my smartphone? Opening the extension folder on the device is the only option, but this cannot be done using standard operating system tools.

Where is the chat history (archive) stored on WhatsApp?