Getting your 64-digit encryption key
The key that protects WhatsApp's local backup, and how to switch from a passkey to a 64-digit key.
1 min read
WhatsApp encrypts its local backup with a key that only you hold. WaChat needs that key to open the file — on your device, never sent anywhere.
Steps in WhatsApp
- Open Settings.
- Tap Chats.
- Tap Chat backup.
- Tap End-to-end encrypted backup.
- Tap Turn on. If it is already on with a passkey, turn it off first, then on again.
- Choose "Use 64-digit encryption key instead".
- Tap Generate your 64-digit key. Copy it or take a screenshot — WhatsApp shows it only once.
- Tap Save key. Then run a new backup (Chat backup → Back up) so the file on your phone is encrypted with this key.
About passkeys
Since late 2025 WhatsApp offers a passkey by default. A passkey cannot decrypt the file outside WhatsApp, so you must pick the 64-digit key option. Switching does not affect your chats.
Format
The key is 64 hexadecimal characters (0–9 and a–f). WaChat accepts it with or without the spaces WhatsApp shows. Keep it somewhere safe: without it, nobody can open the backup, including us.
In WaChat Web you can optionally remember the key on the device; it is stored as a non-exportable key in the browser. Leave that off on shared computers.
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