WhatsApp keeps your chat history on the phone. If the phone is lost, stolen or broken on a trip, anything that was never backed up goes with it. A daily backup takes a few taps to set up and then runs on its own.
Backing up on iPhone
- Open WhatsApp.
- Go to Settings, then Chats, then Chat Backup.
- Tap Back Up Now.
- Set Auto Backup to Daily.
Videos are only included if Include Videos is on, and archived status updates only if Include status archive is on. iCloud needs free space of 2.05 times the backup size, both in iCloud and on the phone, so a full iCloud account stops the backup before it starts. The Last Backup line on the same screen shows when it last worked.
Backing up on Android
- Open WhatsApp.
- Go to Settings, then Chats, then Chat Backup.
- Under Google Account, choose the account the backup goes to.
- Tap Back Up.
- Set the backup frequency to Daily.
The backup counts against the storage of that Google account. Android also keeps a local copy on the phone, which does not survive a lost phone or a factory reset.
What the backup includes and leaves out
The backup holds your messages, photos, voice messages and documents. Videos and archived status updates go in only when their switches are on. Calls are not recorded, and disappearing messages that have already expired are not included.
An end-to-end encrypted backup, an optional setting in Chat Backup, is locked with a passkey, a password you choose or a 64-digit key. WhatsApp cannot reset any of them, so a lost password means a lost backup.
Getting the account back
To restore a backup on a new phone, you first register your number on it. The code comes by SMS or call to that number, or by email if you have added one, but the email code only works with the SIM for your number in the phone. If two-step verification is on, WhatsApp also asks for your PIN or password, and an email address on the account gives you a way to reset a forgotten one.
If the phone is stolen, ask your carrier to lock the SIM and issue a replacement with the same number. Registering WhatsApp on a new phone with that number logs the stolen one out, and WhatsApp says an account cannot be recovered without a SIM for the same number. Until you re-register, WhatsApp can keep working on the stolen phone over wifi, because it does not need the SIM once it is set up.
A travel eSIM such as Atli adds data only, so WhatsApp stays on your usual number. Keep that SIM in the phone and switched on so codes can reach it: dual SIM abroad covers the settings, and WhatsApp not working on a travel eSIM covers verification problems once you are away.
When to run the last backup
Run a manual backup on home wifi the evening before you leave. During the trip, a daily backup over mobile data can use up a small plan. On Android, whether backups may use mobile data is a separate switch in Chat Backup. On an iPhone, the simplest control is to set Auto Backup to Off for the trip and back up by hand on hotel wifi.
Checked against WhatsApp’s help centre, September 2026. Menu names vary by app version.
