How to backup WhatsApp photos, chats and enable security feature

Millions of users use WhatsApp to connect with friends and family members. The platform knows that chats are pretty important to users, so it offers an option to keep a history of chats on Google Drive. Users get the option to enable the automatic backup feature for your chats and select its frequency as daily, weekly, or monthly. Here’s everything you need to know about the messaging app.

How to back up WhatsApp chats to Google Drive?

The process is pretty simple and you just need to dig a little deeper into the settings.

Step 1: Just tap on the three-dotted icon, which is visible on the top right corner of the main screen.

Step 2: Just tap on Settings and head to Chats > Chat backup > Back up to Google Drive.

Step 3: Select a backup frequency other than “Never.”

Note: You can set the backup to Daily, Weekly or Monthly. There is also an option to choose “Only when I tap Back up.” We never recommend you to choose this option as you will have to go to the settings every time you remember to back up chats, which gets pretty annoying. It is always better to choose Daily or Weekly option. This way, your chats will automatically get backed up time to time and you won’t have to worry about losing them.

Step 5: If you don't have a Google account connected, then you need to tap on “Add account” when prompted and enter your login credentials.

Step 6: Tap Back up over to choose the network you want to use for backups.

Note: Do keep in mind that if you choose to back up over a cellular data network, then you might lose a lot of data. It is always better to back up anything using Wi-Fi and save mobile data for urgent times.

How to enable security feature for WhatsApp backups?

As you will be backing up your chats to a third-party service, WhatsApp allows you to set up an additional layer of security. Users can simply turn on end-to-end encryption for your Google Drive backup.

Step 1: Open WhatsApp and tap on More options > Settings > Chats > Chat backup > End-to-end encrypted backup.

Step 2: Tap “Turn on.”

Step 3: Now, create a password or use a 64-digit encryption key instead.

Step 4: Tap create to create your end-to-end encrypted backup.