I was so confident that WhatsApp was backing itself up to Google ever since I got my new pixel but I just wasn’t. Then yesterday I factory reset my phone to fix something else and I lost it all. Years worth of chats from so many times in my past just aren’t there, all my texts with my mom and my family, group chats with old friends… I can’t even look at the app anymore, I’ll never use Whatsapp as much as I used to. I just don’t feel right with this change. There’s no way to get those chats back and now it doesn’t feel like there’s any point backing up WhatsApp now! I really wanna cry like this is so unfair!! And all I had to do was check Whatsapp before I did a factory reset… the TINIEST THING I could have done and prevented this and I didn’t fucking do it!!!

How do I get past this?

  • Deebster@infosec.pubEnglish
    22·
    7 months ago

    The WhatsApp backups are stored in an area of your Google account that you can’t access, so you can’t really test without a new phone (or deleting all your data).

    • ShortN0te
      2·
      7 months ago

      You can just backup the Whatsapp directory yourself. Whatsapp creates a message backup file every day or two, even when Google Drive is disabled. To recover them you need to copy them over. Not well documented.

    • Mkengine@feddit.de
      1·
      7 months ago

      I don’t know if this is country specific, but I can just download all my chats as .txt files and do so regularly, as I don’t trust Meta not to delete anything and only keeping the last x years or something like that.

      • Deebster@infosec.pubEnglish
        1·
        7 months ago

        I don’t see how - is from within WhatsApp? I can’t see anything by browsing on the phone (Android) or by connecting to a computer.

        edit: I can see how to export a single chat from Settings > Chats > Chat backup but not how to get it all without a thousand clicks.

        • Mkengine@feddit.de
          2·
          7 months ago

          Sorry, I meant just that, yes. I don’t want to archive any chat, just the one with emotional value to me. I do it once a year, so it’s not too bad doing this for single chats.

      • Deebster@infosec.pubEnglish
        21·
        7 months ago

        You can’t do anything yourself with those backups apart from delete or disable them:

          • Deebster@infosec.pubEnglish
            21·
            7 months ago

            As far as I know, the QR code is only for logging in to the web chat (or desktop version, I guess).

            It’s possible there is a way, but I looked into it and couldn’t make it work. Feel free to try yourself, but this conversation’s turning into an unwanted argument and I’m out.

              • Deebster@infosec.pubEnglish
                32·
                7 months ago

                You’re downvoting and calling me wrong based on 30 seconds of research, so I’d say you are the instigator.

                your initial points were incorrect

                The backups in Google Drive are not accessible to you. The source you found doesn’t contradict me, because it doesn’t mention being able to access that backup, only delete or disable them.

                You can only transfer your account, which doesn’t test the backup. Getting to the stage where you’ll be able to test the backup leaves you not logged in. The backup process needs a SIM.

          • Deebster@infosec.pubEnglish
            22·
            7 months ago

            ok, but we’re talking about testing backups, which isn’t this.

            The process with a new phone (I just had to do this due to water damage) is put SIM in new phone, then it logs in and asks if you want to restore from the backup (you need to enable file access first) and then it restores from a hidden area of your Google account.

              • Deebster@infosec.pubEnglish
                21·
                7 months ago

                I saw your edit and replied to it - that backup is still inaccessible other than via WhatsApp, although I guess it’s a comfort to see that they’re there.

                You’d linked “How to transfer your chat history”, which isn’t testing the backup. If you deleted the data in the emulator, you’d need to login again to test the backups, which puts you back needing a SIM.