WhatsApp's upcoming iPhone feature could let you save chat backups without iCloud

WhatsApp could also offer paid storage space to WhatsApp users who don't want to store their chats on iCloud.

If you are an iPhone user, you know how quickly your iCloud storage space can vanish, especially if you regularly update your phone's data on the cloud. From photos and videos to documents and other essential files, the space can fill up real fast. What eats up more space than apps like Gmail, Instagram and Notes combined for a lot of users is WhatsApp. So, to ease off some of that storage load, WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature that will give iPhone users an alternative to store all their data without using their precious iCloud storage space.

What's WhatsApp working on?

WhatsApp will reportedly give 2GB of cloud storage free to iPhone users. (HT)

By Shweta Ganjoo

Shweta Ganjoo is a Chief Content Producer at HT Tech. She has over 10 years of experience covering technology, during which time she has focused on consumer tech devices, AI, social media, gadgets, and tech policy, delivering authoritative and reader-focused insights across India’s fast-evolving digital ecosystem.

She began her career in the early 2010s, building a strong foundation in digital-first reporting as India’s tech landscape rapidly expanded. Over the years, she has worked with leading media organizations including India Today Tech, Indian Express Group, and Techlusive, where she played a key role in scaling editorial content and audience engagement. At HT Tech, she drives product recommendation coverage, combining newsroom leadership with hands-on reporting experience.

Her expertise spans smartphones, wearables, smart home devices, AI, and social media ecosystems, along with regulatory developments shaping the tech industry. Shweta is known for her analytical approach to product reviews and news coverage, grounded in hands-on testing and real-world usability. She has conducted industry interviews, tracked emerging tech trends, and produced research-backed stories using verified sources and expert inputs. She holds a masters in Mass Communication, which complements her professional experience in digital journalism and content strategy, and aligns with her academic background in technology. Shweta follows a reader-first editorial philosophy, prioritising accuracy, transparency, and fact-checked reporting to deliver reliable, insightful, and practical insights.

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According to a report by WABetaInfo, the Meta-owned app is working on a new feature for iPhone users that will let them store all of their WhatsApp chat data on the company's own cloud. This includes photos, documents and chat backup. The company will reportedly offer iPhone users 2GB of its own cloud storage space to store their chat data. Once this storage space gets exhausted, the company plans to offer additional storage in the form of paid storage. The report says that WhatsApp is working on several storage tiers, starting at 50GB for $0.99 ( ₹95.27 approximately). The company could offer higher storage tiers, including a 1TB tier, as well, but details around those remain scarce at the moment. Apple, on the other hand, offers 5GB of iCloud storage space free to iPhone users, beyond which they need to pay for more storage.

WhatsApp chat backup feature

That said, iCloud is expected to remain the default option for iPhone users and the users who want to switch to WhatsApp's storage will have to specially opt into the features. Furthermore, iPhone users who opt for WhatsApp's storage space will be able to switch back to iCloud storage at any time.

It is worth mentioning that WhatsApp, an older report by WABetaInfo mentions that the company is working on a similar feature for Android phones as well. When this feature is made available, users will be able to use WhatsApp's own storage space instead of Google Drive for storing their chat backups.

When will WhatsApp's new feature be available?

The report says that this feature is still in development and that it has just been spotted on TestFlight. TestFlight is Apple's beta testing platform, wherein developers can safely testing their new products and features on various Apple OSes before publishing them on the App Store and making them available to the end users. There is no word on when it will be rolled out to users globally.