Google Drive WhatsApp backup: turn it on, restore and manage it

A Google Drive WhatsApp backup saves your chats, photos and voice notes to your Google Account, so you can get them back if you lose your phone or switch to a new one. On Android, you turn it on in WhatsApp under Settings > Chats > Chat backup. This guide covers the setup, the settings that matter, restoring on a new phone and how the backup uses your free storage.

What a Google Drive WhatsApp backup includes

People still call it the "Google Drive backup", but WhatsApp's menus now say Google Account. It's the same thing: the backup is stored in the cloud storage of your Google Account, which is the same storage Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos use.

According to WhatsApp's help page on backups, the backup includes:

• Your individual and group chats.
• Photos, voice notes and documents you sent and received.
• Videos, only if you turn on Include videos.
• Archived status photos and videos, only if you turn on Include status archive.

Two limits are worth knowing early. First, this backup only works on Android: an iPhone backs up WhatsApp to iCloud instead. Second, WhatsApp says a backup made on Android can only be restored on another Android phone, through your Google Account or WhatsApp's own cloud storage.

How to turn on WhatsApp backup to your Google Account

Before you start, check three things: your phone has a Google Account added, Google Play services is installed (it is on almost every Android phone), and your Google Account has enough free storage for the backup.

1. Open WhatsApp and tap the three dots at the top right.
2. Tap Settings, then Chats, then Chat backup.
3. Choose the Google Account you want to use. If WhatsApp offers a choice of cloud, pick Google.
4. Turn backups on and choose how often they run.
5. Tap Back up to make the first backup now.

The first backup can be large if you've used WhatsApp for years, so run it on Wi-Fi with the phone on charge. Later backups are quicker, because most of your media is already saved.

As of November 2026, WhatsApp is also rolling out its own end-to-end encrypted cloud storage as a second option. If you don't see that choice yet, you're not missing anything: the Google option works the same way it always has.

The settings that matter

On the same Chat backup screen, a few settings decide how big your backup is and when it runs.

Backup frequency

For automatic backups to your Google Account, choose any schedule except Never or Only when I tap "Back up". WhatsApp's help page explains that with a Daily schedule, your phone first makes a local backup every night and then saves your chats to your Google Account. Daily is the best choice for most people, because you lose at most one day of messages if something goes wrong.

Include videos

Videos are usually the biggest part of a WhatsApp backup. If your Google storage is tight, leave Include videos off and save the few videos you care about somewhere else. If you have plenty of space, turn it on so nothing is missing on your next phone.

Back up over mobile data

By default, backups wait for Wi-Fi. WhatsApp recommends keeping it that way to avoid data charges. Only turn on Back up over mobile data if you have a large data pack and no regular Wi-Fi.

End-to-end encrypted backup

A normal Google backup is protected by your Google Account. If you want an extra layer, tap End-to-end encrypted backup and protect it with a passkey, a password or a 64-digit encryption key. Then no one can read the backup without it, not even WhatsApp or Google.

The catch is serious: WhatsApp warns that this password or key is the only way to open the backup. If you forget it, your chats can't be recovered. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe, away from the phone itself.

Does the WhatsApp backup use your Google storage?

Yes. WhatsApp backups on Android used to be stored for free, without counting toward your Google storage. That changed: WhatsApp and Google announced that from December 2023, Android backups would start counting toward your Google Account storage limit, and the change was rolled out to users over the following months.

So today your WhatsApp backup shares the free 15 GB with Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos. A backup with years of group photos and videos can take several gigabytes on its own. If a backup fails because there isn't enough room, see our guide on Google Drive storage full for ways to free up space.

To see how much space each service is using, open your Google storage page. To shrink the WhatsApp backup itself, open WhatsApp, go to Settings > Storage and data > Manage storage, delete large files and forwarded videos you don't need, and then run a new backup.

Where to see the WhatsApp backup in Google Drive

This confuses a lot of people: you won't find your WhatsApp backup as a file or folder in My Drive, and you can't open or download it like a normal file. It's stored as hidden app data that only WhatsApp can read.

Google's help page on finding and managing backups says that Google Drive no longer has a "Backups" tab, and that active backups are managed from your Google Account dashboard instead. To check the backup from WhatsApp itself, open Settings > Chats > Chat backup: it shows the date and size of your last Google backup and the account it went to.

How to restore WhatsApp chats on a new phone

Restoring only works with the same phone number and the same Google Account that made the backup. Before you reset or give away your old phone, run one last backup so you don't lose the most recent messages.

1. On the new Android phone, add the same Google Account in Settings > Passwords & accounts (the name varies by phone), or sign in during the phone's setup.
2. Install WhatsApp from the Play Store and open it.
3. Verify your phone number with the code WhatsApp sends.
4. When WhatsApp finds your backup, tap Restore. If the backup is end-to-end encrypted, enter its password or key.
5. Wait for your chats to load. Photos and videos keep downloading in the background, so stay on Wi-Fi for a while.

If WhatsApp says it found no backup, check that you signed in to the right Google Account on the new phone. People with two or three Google Accounts often back up to one and sign in with another.

WhatsApp's photos are also on your phone as normal files, outside the chat backup. If you want them in a folder you can open and share, our guide on how to back up images to Google Drive explains how to upload them or back up the WhatsApp Images folder with Google Photos.

How to delete an old WhatsApp backup

If you stopped using WhatsApp or switched numbers, an old backup may still be using your storage. You have two options:

• Stop new backups. In WhatsApp, open Chat backup and set the frequency to Never. Your existing backup stays, but no new ones are made.
• Remove the stored data. Go to your Google Account dashboard, where Google says device backups and WhatsApp data are managed.

Be careful with the second option. Google's help page warns that choosing Delete all data there permanently deletes all your device backups and WhatsApp data together, not only one of them. Make sure you won't need those chats again before you tap it.

Frequently asked questions

Can I read my WhatsApp chats in Google Drive?

No. The backup is hidden app data that only WhatsApp can open. To read the chats, you have to restore them in WhatsApp on an Android phone with the same number and Google Account.

Can I restore a Google Drive WhatsApp backup on an iPhone?

No. WhatsApp says Android backups can only be restored on another Android phone. iPhones back up WhatsApp to iCloud, and moving chats between Android and iPhone uses WhatsApp's separate chat transfer feature.

Does WhatsApp backup count toward my 15 GB of free storage?

Yes. Since the change announced for December 2023, WhatsApp backups on Android count toward your Google Account storage, together with Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos.

Why is my WhatsApp backup stuck or failing?

The most common reasons are a full Google storage, a weak connection or the wrong Google Account. Check your free space, connect to Wi-Fi, keep the phone on charge and try a manual backup with Back up.