WhatsApp Chats Gone After a Hack? How to Restore Them

You won the hard part. You logged back in with a fresh SMS code and your number is yours again. But the chat list is empty, or it starts from today, and years of family groups, work threads and photos seem to have gone with the person who took your account.

The short answer: WhatsApp cannot give those chats back, because it never had them. Your history lives on your phone and in any backup you made to Google or iCloud. If a backup exists, you can usually restore it yourself, as long as you do it in the right order.

This guide assumes you already have the account back. If you are still locked out, start with our guide to a WhatsApp takeover through a stolen verification code, then come back here. Below: why chats disappear, how to restore them on Android and iPhone, what "backup not found" usually means, and what the attacker could and could not see.

Last checked: 5 October 2026.

#Can You Restore WhatsApp Chats After Getting Your Account Back?

Yes, but only from your own backup. WhatsApp's restore page says it cannot restore chats for you because your chat history is not stored on its servers. On Android, chats come back from a Google Account backup. On iPhone, they come back from iCloud. Either way, the phone number you restore with must be the one you backed up with, and the restore option appears only when you set WhatsApp up after reinstalling it. Messages sent or received after your last backup cannot be restored. If you never made a backup and no other phone still holds the chats, they cannot be recovered by anyone.

#Why Your Chats Disappeared

When someone registers your number on their own phone, WhatsApp logs every other device out. Your phone is pushed off the account, and when you log back in, WhatsApp sets up as if on a fresh install. Whether your history reappears depends on what backup it can find.

The attacker did not take your old chats with them. WhatsApp's compromised account page says messages are end-to-end encrypted and stored on your device, so someone who re-registers your account on a new device cannot read your past conversations. The history did not move to their phone. It simply is not on the screen in front of you.

#Where Can Your Chats Still Come From?

There are only a few places your history can exist. Work through them in this order. The table reflects WhatsApp's help pages at the time of writing.

#How to Restore From a Google Account Backup on Android

Check first, restore second. WhatsApp's Android restore steps describe both.

1. Open the Google One app and sign in with the Google account you used for WhatsApp backups.
2. Tap "Storage", then "Other". If your chats were backed up, you will see WhatsApp listed there.
3. If it is there, uninstall WhatsApp and install it again from the Play Store.
4. Verify your phone number with the SMS or call code. Type it only into WhatsApp on your own phone.
5. When WhatsApp offers a backup, tap "Restore" and leave the phone on Wi-Fi and power until it finishes.

A few limits from the same page. Your Google account holds one backup per account, and each new backup replaces the old one, so you cannot pick an older version. Videos come back only if "Include videos" was on before that backup. If your phone runs low on space, the restore can come back partial.

#How to Restore From iCloud on an iPhone

WhatsApp's iPhone restore steps follow the same idea with iCloud.

1. If WhatsApp is open, go to "Settings", then "Chats", then "Chat Backup". It shows the time and size of your last backup.
2. Make sure you are signed in to iCloud with the Apple ID that made the backup, and that iCloud and the iPhone both have enough free space.
3. Uninstall WhatsApp, reinstall it, and verify your phone number.
4. Tap "Restore Chat History" when it appears.

WhatsApp may ask you to confirm your identity before it restores. If you have not turned on two-step verification or encrypted backups, it sends a code by SMS or call. That code is for you to type into WhatsApp, never to read out to anyone.

#If Your Backup Is End-to-End Encrypted

An encrypted backup is a locked box only you can open. WhatsApp's page on encrypted backup says it is protected by a passkey, a 64-digit encryption key or a password, and that you cannot open it without one of them.

• WhatsApp says that if you lose access to your account and forget the password or key, it cannot send you a copy, reset it or restore the backup for you.
• WhatsApp's forgotten backup password page says you get five attempts in total. After five wrong tries you have to wait before trying again, so do not guess casually.
• A passkey is stored in a password manager such as Google Password Manager, so check there before you assume it is lost.
• If you choose to use WhatsApp without restoring, WhatsApp says that backup stays available if you reinstall on another device later. That holds only until a new backup replaces it.

If the attacker also set a two-step verification PIN, that is a separate lock on the account, not on the backup. Our guide to resetting a WhatsApp two-step PIN covers the waiting period and what a reset deletes.

#Why WhatsApp Says No Backup Was Found

Most "backup not found" moments come down to a mismatch, not a missing backup. Check each of these before you give up.

The same troubleshooting page says that if a restore works but some chats are still missing, the backup most likely did not contain them. Nothing more can be pulled from it.

#If Your Old Phone Still Has the Chats

If you moved to a new phone during the recovery, the old one may still hold your history. WhatsApp's chat transfer page explains moving chats between two Android phones, which needs the same number, both phones close together with Wi-Fi switched on and connected to power, and the new phone not yet registered when you start. WhatsApp also says not to delete data, reset or uninstall WhatsApp on the old phone until you confirm the transfer worked.

If your phone was lost or stolen in the first place, our guide to recovering WhatsApp when the old phone is gone covers getting the number back before you think about chats.

#What the Hacker Could See While They Had Your Number

Your old history stayed out of their reach, but new activity did not. While your number was registered on their phone, the account was theirs to use. Assume the following reached them:

• Any message, photo, voice note or document sent to you during that time. These went to their phone, not yours, and are usually missing from your history afterwards.
• New messages in the groups you belong to, along with the names and numbers of other members.
• Anything they sent while pretending to be you. WhatsApp's compromised account page warns that the person could impersonate you in chats and groups.

That last point can do the most harm: requests for an urgent transfer, a top-up or a code, sent to your family and friends in your name. Tell your contacts and groups what happened, from WhatsApp and from another channel, and ask them to send you anything odd they received. Screenshot those messages with the date showing. WhatsApp says it cannot tell you who accessed your account, when or from where, so your contacts' screenshots may be the only record.

If a stranger could still be reading your chats after you logged back in, the cause may be a linked device rather than a re-registration. Check "Linked Devices" and read our guide to a hidden WhatsApp Web session.

#If Money Was Lost: Malaysian Steps

1. Anyone who transferred money, including you, should call their bank's 24-hour hotline or the National Scam Response Centre on 997 straight away. The NSRC's FAQ asks victims to contact the bank or 997 first.
2. Make a police report at the nearest station. Bring the transaction details and screenshots of the WhatsApp conversations.
3. Report the incident to CyberSecurity Malaysia through Cyber999.

The NSRC page also says NSRC, PDRM, MCMC, BNM and banks will never ask for your password, PIN, TAC or OTP. Someone who calls offering to help and asks for one is part of the scam.

#Chat Recovery Apps and Services to Avoid

Search "cara restore chat whatsapp" or "WhatsApp 恢复聊天记录" and you will find paid apps and people promising to bring deleted chats back. If no backup holds your history, they cannot. The real risk is what they ask for in return.

• Anyone who wants your phone, remote access to it, or your Google or Apple login. That is full access to your email, photos and backups.
• Anyone who asks for your WhatsApp SMS code, two-step PIN or backup password. Those are the keys to the account you just won back.
• Software that asks you to root or jailbreak your phone, or to switch off its security settings. That weakens the phone's own security.
• Promises to "recover" a backup WhatsApp says is overwritten or corrupted. WhatsApp itself says it cannot.
• Upfront payment by bank transfer or e-wallet to a personal account, with pressure to decide now.

#How to Avoid Losing Your Chats Again

• Turn on automatic backups to your Google account or iCloud, and back up by hand before you change phones or reinstall.
• Turn on end-to-end encrypted backup, and store the passkey, password or 64-digit key somewhere you will still reach if your phone is lost.
• Turn on two-step verification with an email address only you can open, so a stolen SMS code alone is not enough next time.
• Check "Linked Devices" every few weeks and log out anything you do not recognise.

#When a Case Review Makes Sense

If you have the account back and a backup exists, you can do everything above yourself. A review is worth it when the takeover spread to Facebook, Instagram or a business number, when you lost the SIM and cannot get the number back, or when you need a clear record for the police. SocialSafe by AwareXone, our recovery service, looks at the case first and tells you honestly what the official routes can still do. It is best effort only and works through WhatsApp's and your carrier's own processes, so it cannot recreate chats that no backup holds. Our recovery hub explains how a review works, and the Trust Center lists what we never ask for, including your codes, PIN and backup password.

#Frequently Asked Questions