The ability to back up your WhatsApp chats to the cloud has been available for nearly ten years. Android users can back up their chats on Google Drive, while iPhone users utilize iCloud. However, WhatsApp is exploring the option of allowing users to back up their chats to its own encrypted cloud storage in the future.
According to a report by WABetaInfo, the platform is developing a feature enabling users to back up their chats directly to WhatsApp's own encrypted cloud storage.
The image below illustrates that Android users will have two options for cloud backup: Google Drive and WhatsApp's proprietary cloud storage, which will offer 2GB of free storage.
Users opting to back up their chats on WhatsApp's encrypted cloud storage will have the option to secure their backups with a passkey, password, or a 64-digit encryption key. Currently, enabling encryption for backups to Google Drive or iCloud is optional; however, WABetaInfo reports that "if users elect to store their backups on WhatsApp's servers, encryption will be mandatory for all stored data."
Furthermore, WABetaInfo indicates that WhatsApp plans to offer a 50GB cloud storage plan at an estimated cost of around $0.99 per month, which may be beneficial since 2GB may not suffice for many users.
WhatsApp is still in the process of developing its encrypted cloud storage feature, and the timeline for public release remains uncertain. However, once development nears completion, it will likely become available to beta users on the beta channel.
