Restoring WhatsApp from local (Mac) backup

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Restoring WhatsApp from local (Mac) backup

Hey everyone,

My iPhone was having issues so I backed everything up to my Mac, did a factory reset and then restored everything using Finder, which worked fine but my WhatsApp chat history/media is all gone - I was led to believe that all of this was included in the backup but everything has gone apart from Group chats I was in (although the chat histories are empty). I didn't use iCloud for the WhatsApp backup because media etc. made it too big, hence the local backup.

Anyone have any experience of restoring the backup from local? I've tried deleting/reinstalling WhatsApp but it only gives me the option of restoring from iCloud, which is of course empty :/

Many thanks,

Garry

iPhone 12, iOS 18

Posted on Jun 18, 2025 4:48 AM

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Answer 1

shunsbridge Author

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Jun 18, 2025 6:09 AM in response to muguy

Yeah I had an AI response saying media/chat history isn't included in local backups. So, 10 years+ of chat history/media gone as easily as that. Hopefully someone will stumble across this in future and avoid making the same mistake.

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Answer 2

shunsbridge Author

Level 1

5 points

Jun 18, 2025 8:58 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

Yeah WhatsApp's response was basically: "No iCloud backup, no media/chat history to restore". Obviously this was infuriating after believing that everything was saved on a local backup.

It's the ease with which everything has been lost that's the most gutting.

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Answer 3

Jun 18, 2025 8:27 AM in response to shunsbridge

I'm intrigued. There are lots of indications that WhatsApp is finicky and not totally reliable, but nonetheless, here:

What does iCloud back up? - Apple Support

Apple says this"

App data

iCloud Backup includes app data for the apps that you've downloaded on your device. This includes data for third-party social media apps, games, and messaging apps, as well as apps from Apple that don't sync with iCloud.

If the app uses iCloud Drive to store data, that information is stored in iCloud instead of your iCloud Backup.

So, if WhatsApp doesn't store its data in iCloud Drive, it seems like it should be there-- unless the WhatsApp people prevent it for "security" reasons. As muguy suggested, I'd check with them.

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Answer 4

muguy

Level 10

91,172 points

Jun 18, 2025 5:49 AM in response to shunsbridge

WhatsApp.com for support

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Restoring WhatsApp from local (Mac) backup

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