How to back up WhatsApp on a Mac (and what the Mac app doesn't save)

You can’t back up WhatsApp on a Mac from the Mac app: WhatsApp’s help center says chat backup “isn’t available on the Mac app”. WhatsApp backups are made on your phone, to iCloud on an iPhone, your Google Account on Android, or WhatsApp’s own cloud storage, which it’s still testing. What your Mac can hold is a full backup of your iPhone made in Finder, and exported chats you can read but never restore.

This guide explains where WhatsApp backups really live, how to set one up properly (with encryption), whether a Finder backup of your iPhone includes WhatsApp, how to keep readable copies and media on your Mac, and what paid transfer apps ask of you. Everything was checked against WhatsApp’s and Apple’s own help pages on 20 October 2026.

Backup, export, Mac app: what each one is

Option	Where it lives	Can WhatsApp restore chats from it?	Media	Encrypted
WhatsApp chat backup on iPhone	iCloud, or WhatsApp cloud storage (being tested)	Yes	Photos, plus videos if you choose	Optional for iCloud; always for WhatsApp cloud storage
WhatsApp chat backup on Android	Google Account, or WhatsApp cloud storage	Yes	Photos, plus videos if you choose	Optional for Google; always for WhatsApp cloud storage
Finder backup of your iPhone on your Mac	Your Mac	Not as a WhatsApp backup	The whole phone	Only if you choose Encrypt local backup
Exported chat (ZIP)	Wherever you save it	No, it can’t be re-imported	With or without media	No: it’s a readable file
WhatsApp for Mac	Your Mac	No: chat backup isn’t available there	Up to three years of history	End-to-end, like any linked device

Can you back up WhatsApp on a Mac?

No, and it helps to know why. WhatsApp for Mac is a linked device: your phone is the main device, and the Mac gets a copy of your chats from it. WhatsApp says linked devices, including Mac, “can’t be used as the primary device on an account”, and the backup feature only exists in the iPhone and Android apps.

The Mac’s copy isn’t complete either. WhatsApp says WhatsApp for Mac can show “up to three years of message history”, and that not all messages and chats are synced to linked devices: “To see or search your full history, check your phone” (WhatsApp). Linked devices also log out if your phone is unused for more than 14 days, and a chat where someone has turned on Restricted chat can’t be used on linked devices at all, the Mac app included. So the Mac app is a window onto your chats, not a safe place to keep them. (Our WhatsApp on Mac guide covers the app itself, and WhatsApp on Mac not syncing helps when history is missing.)

How to back up WhatsApp properly (on your phone)

Set this up once and your chats survive a lost or broken phone. These are WhatsApp’s own steps (WhatsApp Help Center).

On an iPhone

1. Open WhatsApp and go to Settings.
2. Tap Chats → Chat backup → Cloud backup.
3. Select WhatsApp or iCloud, then tap Turn on backups. (WhatsApp cloud storage “may not be available to you yet”; free accounts include 2 GB.)
4. For iCloud, choose how often: Auto backup daily, weekly or monthly.
5. Turn Include videos in chats on if you want videos saved too.
6. Tap Back up now for a first backup.

WhatsApp’s requirements for iCloud: the same phone number and iCloud account as the backup, the latest iOS, and free space in iCloud and on the iPhone of at least 2.05 times the backup’s size.

On Android

1. Go to WhatsApp Settings → Chats → Chat backup → Cloud backup.
2. Select WhatsApp or Google, then tap Turn on backups and follow the prompts.
3. For Google, choose a schedule other than Never, pick the Google Account, and decide on Include videos in chats and Back up using cellular.
4. Tap Back up to make one now.

Encrypt the backup

Backups to iCloud or Google are end-to-end encrypted only if you turn it on (WhatsApp):

1. Go to Settings → Chats → Chat backup → End-to-end encrypted backup (on iPhone, then tap End-to-end encryption) (WhatsApp).
2. Choose a passkey, or More options for a 64-digit key or a password.
3. Tap Create, and store the password or key somewhere safe.

WhatsApp is blunt about the risk: if you lose access to your account and forget the password or key, “WhatsApp can’t send you a copy, reset it, or restore your backup for you.”

Three restore rules worth knowing

From WhatsApp’s restore page:

• iCloud keeps one backup per account, so a new backup replaces the old one. If chats are already missing, don’t make a new backup before you restore.
• Back up regularly. If your most recent backup is more than 120 days old, restoring it may not be possible.
• No crossing platforms. Backups made on Android can’t be restored on an iPhone, or the other way round.

Does a Finder backup of your iPhone include WhatsApp?

It can, but don’t treat it as your WhatsApp backup. Apple says a computer backup “includes almost all of your device’s data and settings”. WhatsApp’s own pages confirm its chats can end up in device backups: your iPhone “may automatically create backups of your WhatsApp chats” in iCloud’s device backup, and if you switch to WhatsApp cloud storage, WhatsApp says your chat history and media “will be excluded from device-level backup” (WhatsApp).

But WhatsApp also says “the only way to recover your WhatsApp backup or transfer it to another iPhone is with iCloud or WhatsApp cloud storage”. A Finder backup restores a whole iPhone; it isn’t something WhatsApp supports for getting chats back. Make one as a safety net for the entire phone, alongside WhatsApp’s own backup.

To back up your iPhone to your Mac (Apple):

1. Connect the iPhone to your Mac with a cable and approve the trust prompts.
2. In a Finder window, select your iPhone in the sidebar.
3. Select Encrypt local backup and set a password. Apple says you can’t recover the backup without it.
4. Click Back Up Now.

Backups like this are counted under iOS Files in System Settings → General → Storage (Apple). Apple also says to choose an encrypted backup if you want to save Health and Activity data, another reason to tick the box.

Keep a readable copy on your Mac: export a chat

An export gives you a file you can open, search, print or archive. It isn’t a backup: WhatsApp says an exported chat “can’t be re-imported because it’s a text file and not a backup file”.

In WhatsApp for Mac (WhatsApp’s steps):

1. Open the individual or group chat.
2. Click the contact’s name or group name, then Export chat.
3. If the chat has media, choose With all media, With selected media… or Without media.
4. Choose where it goes, for example Save to Files. You get a ZIP file.

On WhatsApp Web, use the chat’s menu, then Export chat, and pick All messages or a Custom date range; WhatsApp says media isn’t included and disappearing messages aren’t exported. On any device, view once messages are left out, and if someone has turned on Restricted chat, nobody in that chat can export it (WhatsApp). Our guide to exporting chats on a Mac covers iMessage, Telegram and Instagram too.

Turn the export into a PDF or a spreadsheet

A WhatsApp export is a plain text file that’s hard to read. Two free tools on this site open it in your browser; the file is read on your device and never uploaded:

• The WhatsApp chat viewer and PDF shows the chat as bubbles with search, and Save as PDF opens your browser’s print dialog. Photos and other media show as placeholders.
• WhatsApp chat to Excel downloads a CSV with one row per message: date, time, sender, message and type.

Both are confirmed to work with exports made in WhatsApp’s iPhone and Android apps, so export from your phone if you plan to use them.

How to save WhatsApp photos and videos to your Mac

The simplest route is an export with media: in WhatsApp for Mac, click the chat’s name, choose Export chat → With all media, and save the ZIP. Unzip it to get the chat text and the media you chose. Keep in mind that WhatsApp’s chat backups include videos only when Include videos in chats is on, so check that setting if videos matter to you.

What about WhatsApp backup and transfer apps for Mac?

Paid apps sell “WhatsApp backup to Mac” and iPhone-to-Android transfers, and they rank well for this search. We don’t recommend any. If you’re considering one, check what it asks for. If it reads a full backup of your iPhone made on the Mac (and asks for that backup’s password), it gets your whole phone’s data, not just WhatsApp, so read its privacy policy first. Nothing it produces is a backup WhatsApp itself can restore; WhatsApp’s only restore sources are the ones above.

Is Tera Chat a backup?

No. Tera Chat for Mac, which we make, is a free app that brings WhatsApp, iMessage, Telegram, Instagram and Tinder into one inbox. It connects to WhatsApp the way WhatsApp Web does, by scanning a QR code with your phone, and keeps its copy of your chats on your Mac rather than on a Tera Chat server. But it only receives what WhatsApp sends a linked device (so expect a chat with Restricted chat on not to come through to Tera Chat), and nothing in it can be restored into WhatsApp. Keep WhatsApp’s own backup on. (How Tera Chat works with WhatsApp is on the WhatsApp page; for the bigger picture, see how to combine WhatsApp, iMessage, Telegram and Instagram in one Mac app and the best messaging apps for Mac.)

The short version

1. Turn on WhatsApp’s chat backup on your phone, and turn on End-to-end encrypted backup.
2. Back up at least monthly, more often if your chats matter.
3. Back up your iPhone to your Mac in Finder, encrypted, as a safety net for the whole phone.
4. Export chats you want as readable records, from your phone if you’ll use the PDF or Excel tools.
5. Don’t count on WhatsApp for Mac, a transfer app or Tera Chat to bring chats back.