Yes, 90% of my contacts use Whatsapp. I am therefore trying to remove my main Google account from my GrapheneOS daily profile. I also plan to move over to Proton too, so there is no need for Google Drive.
To clarify, I’m fine keeping sandboxed Google Play with a dummy Google account for downloads/updates. I just don’t want my main Google credentials signed into Android at the system/profile level.
WhatsApp backup is one of the last blockers. On a new phone, restoring a large Google backup can take ages, and in my experience WhatsApp wouldn’t become properly usable until a significant part of the restore had completed. During that time I couldn’t reliably receive WhatsApp calls/messages, which makes migration pretty painful. If your internet drops during that time? Start over !
Has anyone successfully relied on WhatsApp’s local backup instead? Can I periodically copy it to Proton Drive/Linux and later restore it onto a fresh Android/GrapheneOS install if needed?
Especially interested in anyone who has actually tested a full restore from a manually preserved local backup.
Other comment lists the procedure to restore a local backup but in my experience that doesn’t work since at least 3 years. Now it involves some finnicky procedure and you not only need your .db.crypt? file but all the contents from your data/com.whatsapp folder so it has some chance to work. I have some backups sitting around since 2021 and this is the time I haven’t been able to even read their conctacts because now whatsapp seems to force people into using the google drive backup method.