Adding your media folder
How photos, voice notes and documents get attached to messages after a backup import.
1 min read
The encrypted backup contains your messages and small thumbnails, but the actual photos, videos, voice notes and documents live in WhatsApp's Media folder. To open them from the messages, add that folder in WaChat Web.
Which folder to pick
Either Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/ or the Media folder inside it. WaChat matches files by the exact path WhatsApp stores for each message.
How it works per browser
- Chrome / Edge — a folder picker. Files are read on demand, nothing is copied, so even a 50 GB folder is fine.
- Firefox / Safari — folder upload. The browser reads the folder's listing; files are still opened locally.
- Android Chrome — no folder access. You can import the chat with text and thumbnails and open individual files when needed.
Adding it later
You can skip the folder during import and add it any time from the chat menu → Add media folder. Messages show a placeholder until then.
"Media not available"
The file was never downloaded on the phone when the backup was made, or it was deleted from the Media folder. WhatsApp only backs up what is on the phone.
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