Does iTunes backup WhatsApp chat history on iPhone? YES or NO?

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Does iTunes backup WhatsApp chat history on iPhone? YES or NO?

Today I went to the official Apple Store in Mexico City. My iPhone has been having the unresponsive touch screen issue. They said that the only solution offered by Apple is to replace the entire phone, which is fine with me. However, I need to have a backup of my WhatsApp chats.

I asked the Apple guy if I would be able to restore my messages from an iTunes backup. He said "absolutely not" and that WhatsApp messages can only be restored from an iCloud backup. I got home and decided to Google it. According to the WhatsApp website, you CAN restore your WhatsApp chats by using iTunes.

So my question is, was the guy at the Apple store misinformed? Or is the information on the WhatsApp website incorrect? I need a STRAIGHT answer, lol. Has anyone here ever tried restoring their WhatsApp chats using iTunes?? If so, how did it go?

Thanks in advance to anyone who responds! I will greatly appreciate it!

iPhone 6 Plus, iOS 12

Posted on Jun 8, 2019 10:49 PM

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Answer 1

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HAL-9OOO Author

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Jun 10, 2019 9:07 PM in response to rcosta887

SUCCESS!!! iTunes DEFINITELY WILL backup WhatsApp conversations!!!

Apple should RECOMMEND THIS POST because there is ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT that it works!!! The reason I say that Apple should recommend this post is because I Googled the same question hundreds of times in different ways, and half of the websites out there said that it would not work, and that iCloud was the only way. Everyone who reads this post can rest assured that it DOES WORK!!! However, I should mention that I chose to do an ENCRYPTED BACKUP. Unfortunately, I don't know if a normal backup will work.

If anyone out there reading this post has done a normal (non encrypted) iTunes backup, it would be great if they were to post on this thread and let everyone know what the results were! I'm sure a lot of people would be very thankful!

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Answer 2

HAL-9OOO Author

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Jun 8, 2019 11:21 PM in response to rcosta887

Thank you rcosta887 for replying.

Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. I already knew that I can use iCloud to backup WhatsApp, but I'd rather use iTunes if possible, which is why I decided to post this question.

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Answer 3

rcosta887

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3,592 points

Jun 9, 2019 1:34 AM in response to HAL-9OOO

Ok gotcha. So iTunes will save all 3rd-party app data unless that app's data has been marked by the app itself to not be saved as part of a backup. I can say that 99.9% of the time iTunes does backup the app data since there are very few reasons apps will deliberately flag themselves to iTunes to not save the data. I can't imagine that WhatsApp is one of them that would do that.

Usually it's very expensive apps (i.e. ones that cost hundreds of dollars, such as specialty training and professional certification apps) that have very 'premium' data that they want to keep highly locked up.

Unfortunately, although I can be 99% certain, since I don't use WhatsApp and literally the only way to know is if you or someone else has tested this.

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Answer 4

rcosta887

Level 4

3,592 points

Jun 8, 2019 11:11 PM in response to HAL-9OOO

Using WhatsApp you are able to have the app itself make a backup of your chat/message history under it's Settings > Chats > Chat Backup:

https://www.wikihow.com/Back-Up-WhatsApp

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Does iTunes backup WhatsApp chat history on iPhone? YES or NO?

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