How to back up WhatsApp to your PC without Google Drive

For years, Android users never had to think about where WhatsApp backups lived: they went to Google Drive and didn’t count against your storage. That changed. Since a change that rolled out during the first half of 2024, WhatsApp chat backups on Android count toward your Google Account storage, and Google’s own help page now lists WhatsApp backups alongside Drive, Gmail and Photos in the same shared quota.

For most people that free quota is 15 GB. If you have years of photos, videos and voice notes, WhatsApp alone can fill it, and when it’s full, new backups stop.

This guide covers the realistic ways to back up WhatsApp to a PC without Google Drive, with their honest limits.

Why “Google storage full” breaks your WhatsApp backup

When your Google storage runs out, WhatsApp can’t upload a new backup. You’ll usually see a warning in Settings > Chats > Chat backup. You then have four choices:

1. Pay for more Google storage (Google One).
2. Exclude videos from the backup so it fits.
3. Delete old files in Gmail, Drive or Photos.
4. Keep a copy outside Google, on your own computer.

Options 1 to 3 keep you inside the same system. Option 4 is the only one that gives you a copy you physically own, and it’s the one this article is about.

Option 1: Export chat (free, built into WhatsApp)

WhatsApp has a native Export chat feature. On Android:

1. Open the chat.
2. Tap the three dots > More > Export chat.
3. Choose Without media or Include media.
4. Send the file to yourself by email, or save it to a folder and copy it to your PC.

You get a .txt file with the messages, plus the media files if you chose to include them.

The limits:

• It works one chat at a time. With 200 conversations, that’s 200 exports.
• According to several guides, it’s capped at roughly 40,000 messages without media and 10,000 messages with media, keeping the most recent ones. Long chats get cut.
• The result is a plain text file. No search, no chat bubbles, and media files are loose in a folder, so matching a photo to its message is tedious.

When it’s enough: if you only need to save one or two short conversations, Export chat is free and perfectly fine. You don’t need anything else.

Option 2: Copy the local backup file manually

WhatsApp keeps a local backup on the phone, usually in Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Databases, with names like msgstore.db.crypt15. You can plug the phone into your PC and copy that folder, along with the Media folder.

The limits:

• The file is encrypted. On its own you can’t open or read it on a PC.
• It’s mainly useful as a “just in case” copy for restoring to the same phone number later.
• Depending on your Android version, file access over USB can be restricted or confusing.

When it’s enough: if you just want a cold safety copy and you’re comfortable with file managers, it costs nothing. Just don’t expect to read your chats from it.

Option 3: Save everything to your PC with Arkivy

Arkivy is a web app you open in Chrome or Edge on a Windows PC. You connect your Android phone by USB, and it:

1. Copies WhatsApp’s local backup file from the phone.
2. Decrypts it on your PC, using the 64-digit key from WhatsApp’s end-to-end encrypted backup.
3. Saves every chat with text, photos, voice notes, videos and documents into a folder you choose.
4. Shows it all in a viewer similar to WhatsApp Web, with search, dates and times.

Nothing is uploaded to a server. The page is downloaded once and all the processing happens inside your browser. You can read more on how Arkivy works step by step.

What you need before you start

• A Windows PC with Chrome or Edge.
• An Android phone (iPhone isn’t supported yet).
• A USB data cable (some cheap cables only charge).
• USB debugging turned on in Developer options. You can turn it off again afterwards.
• Other phone-management programs closed, so they don’t grab the USB connection.

Turn on the 64-digit encryption key

This is the step people skip, and it’s essential. In WhatsApp go to:

Settings > Chats > Chat backup > End-to-end encrypted backup

Turn it on and choose Use 64-digit encryption key instead rather than a password. Write the key down on paper or in a password manager. WhatsApp then creates a new local backup protected by that key.

End-to-end encrypted backups were introduced in 2021, and by design neither WhatsApp nor the backup provider can read them. The flip side: if you lose the key, the backup can’t be recovered by anyone.

Google Drive vs Export chat vs Arkivy: which one to use

	Google Drive backup	Export chat	Arkivy
Cost	Free up to 15 GB shared, then Google One	Free	US$29/year
Where the copy lives	Google’s cloud	Wherever you send it	A folder on your PC
All chats at once	Yes	No, one by one	Yes
Photos, videos, voice notes	Yes (videos optional)	Limited, recent only	Yes, all of them
Read it on a computer	No	As plain text	Yes, with search
Restore into WhatsApp	Yes	No	No
iPhone	No (iCloud instead)	Yes	Not yet

The honest summary: Google Drive is for restoring, Arkivy is for keeping. If you want to move your chats to a new phone, read our guide on how to transfer WhatsApp to a new phone without losing chats.

How to download WhatsApp media to your PC

If you only care about photos and videos, not the messages, you don’t need any special tool. Connect the phone by USB, choose File transfer on the phone, and copy the WhatsApp/Media folder from Android/media/com.whatsapp/. You’ll get every image and video, but without context: no idea who sent what, or when, beyond the file date.

That context is what a full archive adds. In Arkivy, each photo or voice note stays inside its conversation, next to the message, with the original date and time.

Common mistakes when backing up WhatsApp to a computer

• Using a password instead of the 64-digit key. Arkivy needs the 64-digit key. If you set a password, change it to a key in the same menu.
• Not writing the key down. Screenshots of the key get lost with the phone.
• A charge-only cable. If the PC doesn’t detect the phone, try another cable first.
• Leaving other phone apps open. Programs from the phone maker or other sync tools can block the connection.
• Deleting WhatsApp right after. Check that your PC archive opens and has what you need before you clean up the phone.
• Assuming the PC copy can be restored. It can’t. It’s an archive, not a restore file.

When you don’t need Arkivy

Be realistic. You probably don’t need it if:

• You only want to save one or two short chats: Export chat is enough.
• You’re just switching phones: WhatsApp’s Transfer chats feature is free and restores everything.
• You have spare Google storage and only want a backup for restoring.

It makes sense when you want a permanent, searchable copy of all your conversations, with media, on a computer you control, for example before your Google storage runs out, before you change phones, or because you need to keep a record. If that record may end up in a dispute, see how to save WhatsApp messages as evidence.

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