Where is the whatsapp archive saved? How to Recover Chat History and Media Files on WhatsApp

WhatsApp provides users with the Archive Chat feature, which allows users to save conversations and read the messages later. This will make it possible not to lose important information and received content. This function is offered to owners of iPhone devices (must have the iOS 7 operating system), Android, Windows Phone, Nokia S40, BlackBerry, Nokia S60, BlackBerry 10. How to read the archived messages in WhatsApp, and how to add new information there?

How to archive a chat and read the archive?

There are two ways to add information to the archive:

  1. Go to the “Settings” section and select the “Archive all chats” function. The application will automatically add all existing correspondence to the archive.
  2. Open Chats and swipe from right to left over the desired conversation, then click on the “Archive” option. This will only save one specific conversation.

To read archived messages, go to the Chats tab and find Search, then select the chat you want to extract from the archive. Swipe left on it and select “From Archive.” Also, an archived chat will be unarchived automatically if new messages are added to it.

How to recover lost messages?

If you accidentally deleted any important message, simply reinstall the program. WhatsApp backs up your conversations every night and once you reinstall, it will prompt you to restore all your chats. Select "Recover" and you will be able to read all existing messages.

Convenient functionality will allow you not only not to lose important text information, but also to save all sent content, be it a picture, song or video. Backups are created only for 7 days; earlier files cannot be restored.

Many users are interested in where and how to view the archive on WhatsApp. For example, in order to recover messages or transfer them from one device to another. Many instant messengers and social networking clients store messages on their central servers. This allows you to securely archive correspondence and log in from any device at any time, preserving the entire message history. Is this possible on WhatsApp? Unfortunately no. The developers did not provide for such a possibility. So the entire archive is saved directly on the device.

Where to look for archives?

But where is the WhatsApp archive? It is clear that directly on the device itself, which is currently being used for communication. In this case, the messages themselves should be searched either on the SD card or in the internal memory of the smartphone, in the WhatsApp section.

Archiving occurs daily automatically. In addition, it is possible to save message archives:

  • to Google Drive. To do this, the device itself must be synchronized with this service. In the Settings section, you need to set the “Chat backup” option to the required storage period;
  • For iPhones, you can implement saving to iCloud. In order to save correspondence there, you need to go to “Chat Settings” and select “Create a copy”.
  • In both cases, you will need to have an account in the appropriate services - Google Drive or iCloud. The convenience of using such storage is that even if you lose your phone or SD drive, you can easily and quickly restore correspondence.

How can I find the WhatsApp archive on my device? To do this, you will need to go to the application folder. However, you will not be able to open the archive file using standard OS tools.

Many people wonder archive WhatsApp chat what is it and for what purposes is such a function used in a communication application. This function does not have any specific hidden meanings. WhatsApp developers decided to introduce this option so that users can put things in order in their messages.

Archiving allows you, if necessary, to save the necessary correspondence and remove them from the general dialog box. The application does this by creating a separate archive, where it places all the texts and other data that users sent to each other when communicating. In addition, you can use this technology not only on one chat, but on all of them at once.

There are all the necessary tools for this. Archived chats retain information until such an action takes place. After this, if the person from the archived chat starts the conversation again, the dialogue will start with an empty window.

Important! Also, you should pay attention to another feature of this application. Archived chats cannot be deleted. To do this, you will first need to unzip them again and only then carry out the erasing procedure.

While in this state, chats also cannot be copied and made into backup samples or moved to other sources of information storage. Such chats themselves are located at the very bottom. In order to find them, you need to scroll to the very bottom of the list of all active chats. This is where all archival correspondence is stored.

How to archive a chat on Android

It is possible to archive as separate chat, so everyone at once. Let's look at each one separately

Archiving all chats

Archiving all chats is not difficult. There is a special option for performing this action.

To do this you need:

  • Confirm by pressing the button OK

All chats have been moved to the Archive, which will notify you Archived chats in the main Chat window, by going to which you will see all your correspondence.

Archiving a single chat in WhatsApp on Android

To access it you need:

  • Go to the general window where all active chats presented in the list are located.
  • After this you need press for a few seconds the chat required for archiving (the chat will be highlighted with a tick).

  • In response, a small menu will appear where you can find the corresponding item (indicated in the photo where to click).
  • Next, a message will appear that the chat has been successfully archived and at the bottom you will see the line Archived chats (1) The number of archived chats is indicated in parentheses.

How to Archive Chats on iPhone

To archive a single chat on an iPhone, you need to:

  • Go to the main menu below in Chats
  • Select the desired chat for archiving
  • Swipe on a selected chat from right to left
  • A button will appear opposite the chat More And Archive

  • Click on Archive
  • After this, the system will automatically place this correspondence in the message archive and move it to the very top.

Hide all WhatsApp chats on iPhone

You can also hide all active chats on WhatsApp and place them in one archive. To do this, while in the main application window:

  • You need to go to the tab Settings.
  • Next you should go to the tab Chats.

  • Press command Archive all chats.
  • Confirm by clicking on Archive
  • After this, all dialog boxes will be moved to the corresponding compressed archives.

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.

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?