Some of you may have wondered where the images and files you send and receive between WhatsApp contacts reside when you’re using WhatsApp on your PC. In my experience, using WhatsApp on a laptop is the best way to use the program because my typing speed is super-fast, and I enjoy typing on my keyboard. There are two ways to use WhatsApp on a desktop without using an Android emulator.
There are two methods to access your WhatsApp messages on your PC. The first one is through WhatsApp Web, while the other is through the WhatsApp Desktop app. We’ll see where your media and files are stored by each method. However, WhatsApp stores temporary files and media on your PC in both cases. Taking a look at where it stores media files and documents next will help us better understand.
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FILES AND IMAGES THAT CAN BE STORED BY WHATSAPP DESKTOP
You can find your WhatsApp cached files and logs in this directory if you use WhatsApp’s official desktop app: “C:/Users/ [UserName]/AppData/Local/Packages/5319275A.WhatsAppDesktop_cv1g1gvanyjgm/LocalCache/Roaming”.
Search for the WhatsApp folder on your computer if you don’t find it on your phone. The primary reason you can see images, profile pictures, and so on is this. WhatsApp desktop can be used without an internet connection if your phone is not connected to the internet.
On closer inspection, I found it stores databases, file systems, logs, and other files about the operation, but I couldn’t see a dedicated directory for images and files like those found in smartphones (WhatsApp Images). Due to the way WhatsApp downloads files and images, you may decide where to save them.
Additionally, the Temp – WhatsApp Crashes folder also keeps a crash log file.
Follow these steps to locate it
- Press the button R while holding the Windows button.
- Write Temp in the text box and press Enter.
- Within the Windows File Explorer, you will see a folder named WhatsApp Crashes, along with all the temporary files.
Among the images and files stored in WhatsApp Web
You can find your downloaded images and files in the Downloads folder on your PC if you’re using Chrome. If you’re using another browser, then you can find your downloaded files and media in the default download directory.
Changing the default download directory of your browser allows you to save the WhatsApp images and files anywhere on your computer.
What Are the Storage Locations for WhatsApp Messages On Android?
Backups can be stored on both the cloud and local storage in WhatsApp for Android. In addition to backing up your WhatsApp to Google Drive, WhatsApp will also create a local backup of the data in your phone every morning at 2 am.
Cloud backups make data transfer between phones easy, while local backups allow you to restore WhatsApp without using the cloud backup.
Steps to know for backing up WhatsApp on Android
- If you are an Android user, tap the three vertical dots in the left-hand corner of the screen to open WhatsApp.
- To access WhatsApp’s settings, tap the three vertical dots in the top left corner. A popup menu appears; select Settings from the drop-down menu.
- You can open the Chat settings for WhatsApp in the settings screen by tapping Chats.
- Choose Chat Backup from the options that appear when you access the Chat settings.
- You have to find the option to automatically back up your chats in the Chat Backup settings, as well as a frequency setting. First, you must choose a Google account to back up your chats before you can choose how often backups are performed. To sign in to a Google account, click on the Google Account button.
- By tapping Google Account, you will see a list of the Google accounts connected to your device. Select the account you wish to access. Nevertheless, if you wish to back up WhatsApp to a different account from the one already on your device, you can choose to add a new account as well.
- Tap the Back up to Google Drive option after selecting the appropriate account for backing up WhatsApp. Then, choose how often you want your backups to be made.
- This popup menu will show you the options available to you. The fact that I chose Daily means there isn’t an extended period of time between backups.
- You can now back up your WhatsApp conversations to Google Drive. Furthermore, it is possible to access your WhatsApp backups on your phone’s local storage, as I mentioned previously. Initially, open your File Manager app and tap on the WhatsApp folder.
- There are multiple folders you’ll see next, tap the one for Backup.
- Backup(s) of your WhatsApp will be found in the Backups folder.
Despite viewing it, you cannot open it as it is encrypted. Within it, you will
find all of your WhatsApp messages and other pertinent information. You’ll need to calculate the size of your backup according to the size of your WhatsApp data, which includes your chats and media exchanged among your contacts.
How to store WhatsApp media documents from WhatsApp for Windows
- Click the picture or file you need to download. This will open any other window in which you may discover an arrow pointing down that indicates the download function.
- Click the download arrow. This will convey the report supervisor for your PC in which you could pick out which folder to store media documents.
- You can choose to create a devoted folder for the downloaded WhatsApp images and files or store them according to your preferences or the way you set your documents. For example, when you have a folder for all Word files, you could keep files withinside the same place. As for the picture, you could keep it in the picture folder or camera roll.
- WhatsApp for PC no longer has settings in which you may set a unique default folder to download. This way, you need to pick out a location at any time. The gain is that there are no limits for report sorts that you could download from WhatsApp for PCs, whether or not pictures, videos or mp3 files.
FAQ for Whatsapp Images and File Access & Storage
Messages sent through WhatsApp are stored somewhere?
The WhatsApp server does not store any of your WhatsApp messages. They are stored only on your phone. It is only stored on the server for one hour when you send a message. Once the recipients receive the message, it is deleted. In any case, if they are not received, they are held and automatically deleted 30 days after receiving.
What is the storage period for WhatsApp messages?
If a message is not received after being sent, it will remain on WhatsApp’s servers for 30 days. You will find messages are automatically deleted once they have been received, once they are sent. Should it not be received, it is stored for 30 days and is automatically deleted afterward.
Messages sent through WhatsApp are stored on the iPhone?
Messages sent via WhatsApp are not stored on the iPhone but stored in iCloud. Also, you can use iTunes to back up your device. There are no WhatsApp servers on which to store your messages, so WhatsApp is not storing any of them. Consequently, it is easier to restore your account once you have installed WhatsApp.
Is it possible to retrieve old WhatsApp conversations?
Old WhatsApp conversations can be retrieved. You can accomplish this by uninstalling and reinstalling WhatsApp. Upon reinstalling the app, you’ll see a prompt for restoring your backup, including your old WhatsApp conversations. Backups to a daily schedule will help prevent many chats from being lost.
Conclusion
Whatsapp is used by everyone and everywhere in the world. This application is widely used, since it has useful features and it has frequent updates. Moreover, the application is trustable and has no bugs. Do comments, your most favorable feature from this whatsapp application.
Aayush Kumar Gupta is the founder and creator of ExploringBits, a website dedicated to providing useful content for people passionate about Engineering and Technology. Aayush has completed his Bachelor of Technology (Computer Science & Engineering) from 2018-2022. From July 2022, Aayush has been working as a full-time Devops Engineer.