Have you accidentally deleted your chats on your WhatsApp? And if it was WhatsApp Business, that is an even bigger problem. People use WhatsApp because it is available on every smartphone, does not require much to sign up, and has no charges. This has led people to send files and media attachments on WhatsApp more than on any other application.
If you are thinking about how to recover 1-year-old WhatsApp messages without backup because you accidentally tapped the “delete chat”, then there still is some hope. Some ways can save you the damage and retrieve the messages back. Let’s move forward and learn the methods.
Is Message Recovery Possible Without Backups?
Technically, if there is no backup, nothing can be restored because there is nothing to replicate on your phone. But the good news is that WhatsApp has a built-in safety mechanism to avoid such issues.
WhatsApp creates a local backup daily of all the conversations at 2 AM. It creates a local backup because the app owners do not save any backup on their servers. This backup, however, might not save videos as they would increase the backup size.
Another scenario is that you have a Google account or Apple’s iCloud account activated on the phone and opted for that as backup storage. In that case, WhatsApp will automatically take backups and store them in those accounts. Now, let us get to the main section and see how you can restore 1-year-old messages in WhatsApp.
Methods to Restore 1-Year-Old WhatsApp Messages Without Backup
1] Restore Messages From Local Backups on Android
You can restore the backups in Android from the mobile phone’s local storage. Just follow these simple steps below.
- Launch your ‘File Manager’ and navigate to ‘Internal Storage’.
- Find a folder named ‘WhatsApp’ and click on it.
- Open the ‘Database’ folder.
- Check if files with names msgstore-.db.crypt12 is present.
These are the naming styles that WhatsApp uses to store backups locally. If such files are present, then you know the good news already. To restore those backups, follow the following steps.
- Delete your WhatsApp and install it again.
- Type in your registered contact number.
- WhatsApp will automatically look for local backups. If they are available, you will be asked to restore from there. Hit enter to proceed.
- Wait a few moments, depending on the size of the backup.
When it is finished, all your messages will be available again.
2] Restore Messages From Google Drive
If you had set up periodic backups of WhatsApp to your Google Drive, then you still have a chance to recover deleted messages. Follow the following steps first to verify if there is a backup available.
- Launch the Google Drive application.
- Navigate to Menu → Backups.
- You will see the WhatsApp backup there.
Now, to restore the backup, follow these steps.
- Uninstall and then re-install WhatsApp.
- Enter your registered contact number.
- Click the ‘Restore’ option.
Ensure that your Google Drive is signed in before the process mentioned above.
3] Restore Messages From iCloud
This method is for iPhone users. iPhones do not create local backups like Androids. So, there is no way yet to restore backups locally. However, if you have enabled automatic backups to iCloud and have taken one in the past, that can be resorted. To check your last backup size and date, follow the steps.
- Launch WhatsApp.
- Navigate to Settings → Chats → Chat Backup.
To recover the backup, follow the same process of deleting and re-installing WhatsApp.
4] Restore Messages From iTunes
This method is also for iPhones but is not as robust as iCloud or Google Drive. The reason is that you do not have the option to restore the data of a particular application. It tries to restore the backup of the full phentire So, if you try to restore an old backup from iTunes, the latest data of other applications will be lost. Ensure that backups of those applications are taken first. To restore backups in iTunes, follow these steps.
- Launch iTunes on your PC.
- Click on the ‘Summary’ tab from the left sidebar.
- Click on ‘Restore Backup’.
Conclusion
WhatsApp messages are an essential asset and are more critical if they relate to your business. If you accidentally deleted a chat from your WhatsApp, you still have hope for your message or data recovery. Several methods exist to recover the backup based on the mobile and type of backup creation. With every possible method available and explained above, you can get your 1-year-old WhatsApp messages back.
