Is It Safe to Delete WhatsApp Databases?

What is the WhatsApp Databases folder?

Located deep in your Android phone’s storage (usually at Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Databases), this folder contains several files with names like msgstore.db.crypt14. These files often take up gigabytes of local storage.

Why Does It Exist?

WhatsApp natively stores all your text messages and chat history in a live database. However, to ensure you don’t lose your messages if the app crashes, WhatsApp creates a full, encrypted backup of your entire chat history every single night at 2:00 AM.

It stores these daily backups in the Databases folder, usually keeping a rolling archive of the last 7 days of backups.

Can You Delete It?

Yes, but it is highly recommended to leave the most recent-items)-items)-items)-items)-items)-items)-items)-items)-items)-items)-items)-items)-items)-items)-items)-items) backup alone.

Deleting these files will not delete your active chats in the WhatsApp app. Your current messages will remain perfectly intact. However, if your phone breaks tomorrow, or if you accidentally uninstall WhatsApp, you will rely on these backup files to restore your messages.

How to Delete It

If you are desperately low on phone storage, you can safely delete the older backups while keeping the newest one:

1. Open your Android Files app.
2. Navigate to Internal Storage > Android > media > com.whatsapp > WhatsApp > Databases.
3. You will see files named like msgstore-2026-07-20.1.db.crypt14.
4. Delete all the files that have a date in their name.
5. DO NOT DELETE the file simply named msgstore.db.crypt14 (without a date). That is your most recent, critical backup.

What Happens If You Delete It?

You will instantly reclaim a massive amount of storage space (often several gigabytes if you have a lot of group chats). However, the very next night at 2:00 AM, WhatsApp will automatically generate a new backup file and start filling the folder up again.

Bottom Line

It is perfectly safe to delete the older, dated backup files inside the WhatsApp Databases folder to save space, but you should always keep the most recent backup just in case of an emergency.