While the default setting on Android phones is to Back up WhatsApp to Google Drive, there are many users who are interested in storing a Backup of WhatsApp on a computer.
The reason for this could be to make an additional Backup of WhatsApp Chats and photos to computer or it could also be driven by individual liking or preference for keeping WhatsApp Backups locally.
Backup WhatsApp to Computer
Since, WhatsApp does not directly Backup to computer; the only way to Backup WhatsApp to computer is by backing up WhatsApp to the local storage of your mobile device and transferring the Backup File to computer.
If you are only interested in Backing up certain important WhatsApp Chats to computer, this can be achieved by using “Email Chats” feature as available in WhatsApp.
1. Back Up WhatsApp to computer
The first step is disable Backup to Google Drive, so that you can make a manual Backup of WhatsApp to the Local Storage on your Android phone.
Once, a Local Backup of WhatsApp is available on your Android phone, it can be easily copied or transferred to computer.
Step 1: Disable Backup to Google Drive
1. Open WhatsApp > tap on the 3-dots icon (top-right) and select Settings in the drop-down menu.
2. From the Settings screen, go to Chats > Chat Backup and select Back up to Google Drive option.
3. On the pop-up, select the Never option.
Step 2: Backup WhatsApp to Android Phone
After disabling Backup to Google Drive, the next step is to manually backup WhatsApp to the Local Storage on your Android phone.
1. Open WhatsApp > tap on 3-dots menu icon (top-right) and select Settings in the drop-down menu.
2. From the Settings screen, go to Chats > Chat Backup > tap on the Back Up button.
3. Patiently wait for the Backup process to be completed.
Step 3: Transfer WhatsApp Backup to Computer
The third and the final step is to transfer the WhatsApp Backup File to computer.
1. Plug Android Phone to computer and open the File Explorer on your computer.
2. From the File Explorer screen, navigate to Phone > Android > media > com.whatsapp > WhatsaApp and copy the Backups and Media Folder to the Desktop on your computer.
This will ensure that you have a copy all your WhatsApp messages and photos on your computer.
3. If you are only interested in copying the latest Backup of WhatsApp messages to computer, go to Phone > Android > media > com.whatsapp > WhatsaApp > Backups and copy msgstore.db.crypt14 file to Desktop.
Note: If there are multiple Backup files, copy the msgstore.db.crypt file without date and this will be the latest manual Backup File that you made on your Android phone.
As you can guess from the word “crypt” in the File name, the Backup File is in an encrypted format and it cannot be used to view or read your WhatsApp Messages.
However, the Backup File can be used to Restore WhatsApp on an Android phone by transferring the Backup File to the Local Storage of the Android phone and Reinstalling WhatsApp on it.
During the Reinstall process, WhatsApp will automatically locate the transferred Backup file and prompt you to Restore WhatsApp using the Backup File.
2. Backup Selected WhatsApp Chats to computer
On both iPhone and Android phone, WhatsApp provides the option to send all messages and photos linked to particular single or Group Contact to your Email Account.
Once the selected Chats are available in your Email Account, they can be downloaded to the computer.
1. Open WhatsApp and open the particular WhatsApp Chat that you want to Email.
2. On your Contact’s Chat screen, tap on the Name of your Individual or Group Contact.
3. On the Contact’s Info screen, scroll down and select Export Chat option.
4. On the pop-up, you can select Attach media (if you want to backup linked images/documents) or Without media option.
5. On the Sharing Menu that appears, select the Mail App that is applicable in your case.
6. Follow the onscreen instructions to Email WhatsApp Chat to your own Email Account.
If there are more WhatsApp Chats, you will have to repeat the above steps for each WhatsApp Chat that you want to download to your computer.
Once the selected WhatsApp Chats are available in your Email Account, you can download them to computer by logging in to your Email Account.