I was thinking of buying a Iodé phone for my mother but last time she replaced her phone was because her older phone broke down and she was not able to recover her Whatsapp messages because the Whatsapp backup with Google Drive was not setup, so this time I’m not going to offer her a phone that cannot backup Whatsapp.
Is there a solution to this?
This is the only thing that would stop me from buying Iodé for my mum. I’m a happy user myself (and for my part don’t care much about loosing my Whatsapp conversations)
You can use Whatsapp without Google account. A backup will be made on your mobile, local storage. You can also login on your Whatsapp account on your mobile, via “Settings / Passwords and accounts”. After being activated - and configuring backup settings well - a backup from now on will also be made into the so called Cloud, on Google Drive. So from then you have two backups. One local, one internet. This is standard procedure on - as far as I know - every Android system. I hope I’ve could you helping out.
Have a nice evening.
Thank you Guillermo.
Can someone confirm what Guillermo is saying? backing up on Google drive with a phone that does not have access to Google 
thanks. what is it? Can you explain me what it does?
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Yes, thank you. Proton Drive is an alternative to Google Drive. All data copied from your workstation to your hard drive, SSD or CD is a so-called local backup. A Drive refers to a storage medium that can only be accessed via the Internet, also called The Cloud or Cloud storage.
Google Drive data is stored on U.S. Data Centers (like Amazon Servers, for example). U.S. law applies.
Data from Proton Drive is stored in Switzerland and (I believe) Iceland. Swiss law applies. No drivel of U.S. or EU legislation, which mainly affects the privacy of citizens. Excluding people, who don’t know how to use a smartphone. Switzerland is, I believe, the only independent wealthy country in the world. With their own legislation.
Furthermore, one of Proton’s spearheads is: supporting journalists, activists and other victims of totalitarian regimes financially but above all practically and technically. Hence their fantastic products, all free to use, Open Source and also inspected. Some features can only be used after payment, but at their core you don’t need them. All data is stored and transmitted fully encrypted. Off course: PGP supported. Last but not least: WireGuard VPN encryption compatible.
The ProtonVPN for Android can preferably be installed via ProtonVPN - Secure and Free VPN | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository
Some of Proton’s software can only be installed through Aurora Store, but oh well. On the other hand, ProntonVPN can also be download from their website at Download ProtonVPN Android on GitHub - ProtonVPN Blog
I hope this answers your question somewhat.
All the best,
Guillermo
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Thanks for the info. I have been trying to find a free (as in free of charge) cloud storage application with reasonable transfer speeds (to replace one of my current accounts) so I followed your links and signed up to Proton Drive free account to give it a trial.
Initial storage limit is set at 500mb which is easily upgradeable to 1gb (free) by completeing a few tasks.
Must say I like the look of it but to make use of it I would need to start paying 3+ euro per month to get the minimum 200 GB storage. I suppose that is reasonable, of course it is, but it doesn’t meet my needs sadly.
My current provider Mega gives 30 GB free but it’s a bit slow on this subscription level, plus it doesn’t have the same sparkling credentials as Proton!
Another Alternative for a cloud:
Shadow Drive - Free (20 GB):
https://eu.shadow.tech/shop/en-DE
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@Guillermo I still don’t understand
First you say you backup to Google Drive and later you say you backup to Proton Drive.
I know Whatsapp can backup to Google Drive (when you have Google Services on your phone) but how do you get Whatsapp to backup on Proton Drive?
In-APP only google drive Backup is possible.
To backup to any other cloud you have to backup internally and copy the folder: ./Android/media/com.whatsapp to any cloud of your choice
Thanks. Now I see what Guillermo meant. Can you restore this copy of the Whatsapp repository in the Whatsapp app? saving a copy is one thing but being able to use this copy is another thing. @Guillermo have you tried?
I’m not really sure, what you mean.
But i did it often for my wifes WA when factory reset and re-install her phone. (I don’t use WA for good reasons)
I did a a local backup inside WA
copy the complete folder media/com.whatsapp folder to my laptop
on fresh phone I copy the folder back to local phone storage.
Install WA and start it. After registering with mobile number the backup would be found and I get ask if I want to recover.
Works fine all the time without issues
Sorry for my late response: I’ve been busy moving houses. I want to endorse what @AlphaElwedritsch says. Furthermore, I have found useful information at:
I hope it will be possible to restore my WhatsApp from my Sony Xperia 10 iii Sailfish OS smartphone. And convert it to FuffyChat. To be continued.
Good luck restoring your data and thank you for clarifying @AlphaElwedritsch.
I would like to also thank you for the info. I prefer cloud servers and storage in:
- Switzerland, Swiss constitution applies
- Scandinavian, Scandinavian constitution applies
- European Union, General Data Protection Regulation applies
I do not like servers and/or storage in one of The Five Eyes (FVEY) (an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States).
I would like to mention:
Koofr (Norwegian), 10 GB free, Pricing - Koofr
Jottacloud (Norwegian), 5 GB free, Jottacloud
Onlime (Danish), 5 GB free, https://onlime.dk/en/prices
AFAIK all the software is open source, Libreware.
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Good tips!
I’m trying out Koofr free account for a while. I like that they have small storage options that cost very little.
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these press articles are two years old. things change fast. I have my doubts. anyone with up-to-date experience of backing up whatsapp conversations without Google?