On an iPhone, WhatsApp backups are stored in iCloud, whereas on Android, they are stored in Google Drive. These two cloud services are not directly compatible, meaning they cannot sync or restore backups from each other.
When you transfer WhatsApp data from iOS to Android (or vice versa), only the chats, media, and settings present on the device at the time of transfer are moved. Any older messages or media stored only in iCloud or Google Drive will not be included in the transfer unless they are already restored to the phone beforehand.
WhatsApp provides an official migration tool for moving chats between iOS and Android without relying on cloud backups. This tool uses a direct connection (usually via a cable or local Wi-Fi transfer) and can move your chat history, media, and profile information, but it will not merge with any existing WhatsApp backup on the new phone’s cloud storage. After migration, a new backup will be created in the destination platform’s cloud service (Google Drive for Android, iCloud for iPhone).
Additionally, email attachments are completely separate from WhatsApp and are not part of any WhatsApp chat or backup—whether on iCloud or Google Drive.
