WhatsApp Chat Leak: How To Disable WhatsApp Cloud Backup On Android, iPhone
In case you¡¯re scared about your chats falling into the wrong hands and wish to get rid of the cloud backup, here¡¯s what you need to do.
Today, WhatsApp is going through a tough time, with several users migrating from its platform after it decided to alter its terms and privacy policy and allowing its parent company to have access to its data.
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While WhatsApp has been always touting about its secure end-to-end encryption, there have been various instances where its privacy has been questioned, at times even compromised.
Most recently, we remember the situation during the Shushant Singh Rajput and Rhea Chakraborty controversy where chats of other Bollywood stars like Deepika Padukone, were unravelled, that shocked everyone across the nation.
While we revealed that cracking into phones offline and accessing chats doesn't really put WhatsApp at fault, there have now been instances where people have gained access to WhatsApp cloud backups by hacking into their Google or iCloud account.
WhatsApp¡¯s end to end encryption only works for two people on a particular device. However, if someone chooses to backup their chats on the cloud, the chat backup itself isn¡¯t really encrypted. So a hacker just needs the ID/password for a user¡¯s account to gain access to their WhatsApp chats.
In case you¡¯re scared about your WhatsApp chats falling into the wrong hands and wish to get rid of the WhatsApp message history saved on cloud backup, here¡¯s what you need to do.
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Disable WhatsApp cloud backup option
First what you need to do is head to the WhatsApp settings. To do that, on Android, tap the three dots on the top right corner. Once done, you should see a ¡®Settings¡¯ tab. Tap that.
Next, under settings, head to the tab that says ¡®Chats¡¯. After that, tap on ¡®Chat Backup¡¯. Once in the menu, tap on the ¡®Backup to Google Drive option¡¯. Here, tap on it and in case it's daily or weekly, turn it to ¡®Never¡¯.
That¡¯s it, now your chats will only remain on your phone and the recipient¡¯s phone. In case you decide to switch phones, enable the feature, backup all the chats and then restore it on the new phone. Don¡¯t forget to disable backup again.
Deleting WhatsApp chats backup from Google Drive
Even though you¡¯ve disabled backups on Google Drive, you still need to delete previous backups from the cloud. To do that, head to Google Drive on a PC (drive.google.com).
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Once you¡¯re on your Google Drive homepage, look for the gear icon on the top right. Here tap on ¡®Settings¡¯. Under Settings, go to Managing Apps and look for WhatsApp.
Right next to WhatsApp, you¡¯ll see options. Under options select ¡®Delete hidden app data¡¯ and you¡¯re pretty much good to go.
Deleting WhatsApp chats backup from iCloud
For iOS, you can delete your backed-up chats straight from your iPhone. Head to phone settings and tap on your name to enter Apple ID settings.
Next, tap on the ¡®iCloud¡¯ tab. Once inside, you need to tap the ¡®Manage Storage¡¯ option. This should open a variety of apps and from this, select WhatsApp Messenger.
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Now all you need to do is click on ¡®Edit¡¯ and then ¡®Delete Data¡¯ button and this should clear all WhatsApp data from your iCloud.
