WhatsApp for Android (2.12.45) adds option to backup and restore from Google Drive

The WhatsApp for Android team have been hard at work, bringing several new features to the messaging client along with the usual bug fixes.First we got a glimpse of WhatsApp Web, which allows your notifications to arrive on your desktop, then we saw the voice calling feature rollout, followed by the recent Material Design update. Now the developers have started rolling out the ability to use Google Drive as a backup option within the app.

The update is a part of WhatsApp for Android version 2.12.45 which can be downloaded from APK Mirror. The official version listed on the Google Play Store is still version 2.12.5 while the WhatsApp website offers version 2.12.44 at the time this article was written.

Once you have installed version 2.12.45 of WhatsApp for Android, head into the app's Settings > Chat settings > Chat Backup, and you'll see a new screen that shows your last backup time and a list of greyed out Google Drive settings. Change the frequency from off to daily (or weekly or monthly), and you'll be able to pick up a Google account for the backup as well as choose whether you want it to use Wi-Fi only or Wi-Fi and cellular networks.

You will then have to wait until 4.00 AM for WhatsApp to initiate its daily backup. You can also manually initiate the Backup by tapping on the Back up now option found under the Chat backup setting. However, you should be aware that there's no stopping the backup once it starts and the size can be quite large if you have received and sent a lot of media through the app.

Its also important to note that since this is not an officially released version, it may have its share of bugs, so note that you are proceeding at your own risk.

download - APK Mirror
source - Android Police