Where is the chat history stored on WhatsApp Web - briefly?
The chat history on WhatsApp Web is stored locally on your device's browser cache. This means it is not saved on WhatsApp servers but rather on the user's local machine.
Where is the chat history stored on WhatsApp Web - in detail?
When it comes to storing chat history on WhatsApp Web, there are several key aspects to consider. First and foremost, it's important to understand that WhatsApp Web is essentially a mirror of the mobile application. This means that all messages and data are not stored locally on your computer but rather synchronized from your mobile device.
WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption for all communications, ensuring that only the sender and recipient can read the messages. This encryption applies to both individual chats and group conversations. As a result, even WhatsApp itself cannot access or read your chat history.
On the mobile device, chat history is stored in a local database. For Android users, this database is typically located in the internal storage of the device under /data/data/com.whatsapp/databases. For iOS users, the database can be found within the app’s sandbox directory at /var/mobile/Containers/Data/Application/<AppID>/Library/NoBackup/ChatStorage.sqlite.
When you use WhatsApp Web, your browser acts as an interface to display and allow interaction with this synchronized data. The chat history is not stored on the server side of WhatsApp; instead, it remains on your mobile device. This ensures that even if your computer crashes or you switch to a different device, your chat history will remain intact and accessible through the linked mobile app.
To summarize, the chat history on WhatsApp Web is stored in an encrypted format on your mobile device. The web interface merely mirrors this data, providing a convenient way to access your conversations from a computer without actually storing any of the content on the browser or server side.