WhatsApp local backup without Google account
Yes, 90% of my contacts use Whatsapp. I am therefore trying to remove my main Google account from my GrapheneOS daily profile. I also plan to move over to Proton too, so there is no need for Google Drive.
To clarify, I'm fine keeping sandboxed Google Play with a dummy Google account for downloads/updates. I just don't want my main Google credentials signed into Android at the system/profile level.
WhatsApp backup is one of the last blockers. On a new phone, restoring a large Google backup can take ages, and in my experience WhatsApp wouldn't become properly usable until a significant part of the restore had completed. During that time I couldn't reliably receive WhatsApp calls/messages, which makes migration pretty painful. If your internet drops during that time? Start over !
Has anyone successfully relied on WhatsApp's local backup instead? Can I periodically copy it to Proton Drive/Linux and later restore it onto a fresh Android/GrapheneOS install if needed?
Especially interested in anyone who has actually tested a full restore from a manually preserved local backup.
4 replies
I have managed to ditch WhatsApp (thankfully) and it has been years since I last had to migrate to a new device. The process was quite simple, at least as far as I can remember.
First, navigate to the backup menu (in WhatsApp) where you are supposed to choose a Google account and backup frequency. I think there should be a button named "backup now" or something. This will create a local backup located at
Android/data_or_media/whatever_whatsapps_app_id_is. Browse the directory and you should see your backup in a nested folder.Then, migrate this folder to the new device and put it in the same location before installing WhatsApp. After you install and open WhatsApp, it should prompt you to import your old messages from the backup.
I so wish there was a way to use it without giving numerous permissions and without tracking. Self-hosting option exists, of course, but what about a regular app or web interface without these elements?
Whatsapps local backup are a bit of a pain because the way the round robin databases work. I tried it with nextcloud but because the file names stay the same it keeps conflicting. But for a one time trannsfer the local backups are fine. I just zip the whole com.whatsapp folder copy it over and extract it on the new device.
Other comment lists the procedure to restore a local backup but in my experience that doesn't work since at least 3 years. Now it involves some finnicky procedure and you not only need your .db.crypt? file but all the contents from your data/com.whatsapp folder so it has some chance to work. I have some backups sitting around since 2021 and this is the time I haven't been able to even read their conctacts because now whatsapp seems to force people into using the google drive backup method.