How to Disable Automatic WhatsApp Backup on Android and iPhone

Despite the controversies, WhatsApp has emerged as a useful communication tool for millions of people. However, some of its default features can be irritating for users. One such default setting is the automatic backup of chats, which can be quite troubling at times. Just when you are focusing on something important, the automatic backup starts and your internet slows down to a crawl. Users have also reported a reduction in phone’s performance during automatic WhatsApp backups. If you are facing similar issues, here’s how you can disable automatic backup on WhatsApp.

Disable WhatsApp automatic backup on Android

The option to disable automatic WhatsApp backup is neatly hidden under several layers of menu. This is why most people are not able to find it easily. On Android, your chats are saved on the connected Google Drive account. Here’s how you can disableWhatsApp automatic backup on Android.

• Step 1: Open WhatsApp and tap on settings.
• Step 2: Tap on Chats and then tap on Chat backup.
• Step 3: You will see Google Drive Settings. Tap ‘Back up to Google Drive’, wherein you will get options such as ‘Never’, ‘Only when I tap Back Up’, ‘Daily’, ‘Weekly’, and ‘Monthly.
• Step 4: If you don’t intend to use automatic backup, choose the ‘Never’ option. If you want to manually backup WhatsApp messages, choose the ‘Only when I tap Back Up’ option.

Disable WhatsApp automatic backup on iPhone

On iPhone, WhatsApp messages are backed-up on iCloud. The steps to disable it are quite the same as that in Android –WhatsApp> Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Auto Backup. Here you choose ‘Off’ to disable WhatsApp automatic backup to iCloud.

Alternatively, you can access iPhone settings and disable automatic WhatsApp backup from there. Go to Settings, tap on your name, and choose iCloud. Click on the toggle button next to WhatsApp to disable automatic backup.

Automatic WhatsApp backup can also be a drain on your available data limit. If the backup size is large, you could easily lose your entire daily data limit. Until you have something very important, there’sreally no need to back up your WhatsApp messages. If you have some important files, you can download and store it separately on Google Drive or your PC or any other secure location. It’s surprising to see why WhatsApp has created this default setting of automatic backup when it is disliked by many users.