If you've ever wondered what msgstore is and what it's used for, this article will answer all your questions. The name might suggest it's some kind of online store, but it's nothing of the sort.
Msgstore files are WhatsApp files that you've probably encountered at some point. What are msgstore files used for? Can I delete msgstore files? In this article, we'll answer these and other questions related to these WhatsApp files, which, for many users, serve no purpose or use.
what is msgstore
Msgstore files are data files that store transcripts of WhatsApp chats . WhatsApp encrypts messages end-to-end, so no one who might gain access to these messages along the way will be able to decrypt them (at least not quickly).
As I mentioned, msgstore files store WhatsApp chats , but not in plain text; they're encrypted. This means that if someone gains access to your device by bypassing the security measures, they won't be able to access the contents of those files with a simple text editor.
The name msgstore is accompanied by the words db (data base) along with the year, month and day in which they were created and accompanied by the word crypt and two numbers.
- msgstore.db.cryptXX
- msgstore.db.yyyy-mm-dd.db.cryptXX
- msgstore.db.aaaa-mm-dd (1) .db.cryptXX
- msgstore.db.aaaa-mm-dd (2) .db.cryptXX
- msgstore.db.aaaa-mm-dd (3) .db.cryptXX
- msgstore.db.aaaa-mm-dd (4) .db.cryptXX
The two numbers at the end of each file represent the encryption method that WhatsApp uses at any given time.
What is msgstore for?
The file mgstore.db.cryptXX stores all the application's chats at that moment , while the other files are backups. The date included in the filename indicates when it was created.
As of the time of publishing this article, March 2022, WhatsApp has created 5 encryption versions of its encryption code , which is the same as that available in Signal.
- mgstore.db.crypt5
- mgstore.db.crypt7
- mgstore.db.crypt8
- mgstore.db.crypt12
- mgstore.db.crypt14
These are all the types of files that we can find inside the WhatsApp database folder.
Unless you have a very old device and the WhatsApp application hasn't been updated, it's most likely that the backups on your device are in the format mgstore.db.yyyy-mm-dd.db.crypt14
How to open msgstore files
msgstore files are encrypted , so we won't be able to open these types of files with just any plain text editor; we'll need an application that understands that encryption to access their contents.
Obviously, no application knows WhatsApp's encryption , since the platform uses a different key for each device.
The key used to encrypt this copy of the WhatsApp chats is stored inside the device, specifically in the folder data/data/com.whatsapp/files/key.
Since the information is stored in the root directory of the device, no third-party application can access it unless it has root permissions. In other words, the device must be rooted to access the key.
If this were not the case, any internet application would allow access to that invaluable key that allows decrypting WhatsApp data , just like the rest of the keys that other applications also use to protect access to the information they manage.
Decrypt WhatsApp chats
If your device has root permissions, below are the steps to access and open msgsotre files.
If that's not the case, you can forget about it. There's no method other than brute force to decrypt the data stored in these files. Ignore websites that offer access to this data, as it's impossible without the key.
To decrypt these files, you need access to the key, which is located on the device . If you don't have the device handy, it's as if you don't have root access; the WhatsApp Viewer app won't work.
WhatsApp Viewer is an open-source application available on GitHub that allows us to open msgstore files using the key stored on the device.
At the time of publishing this article, this application is compatible with the following file types :
- mgstore.db.crypt5
- mgstore.db.crypt7
- mgstore.db.crypt8
- mgstore.db.crypt12
- mgstore.db.crypt14
Once we have installed the application, we open it for the first time, tap on File > Decrypt.cryptXX where XX is the number of the file used by our version of WhatsApp.
Next, we select the file source and the location where the key is stored . Seconds later, the application will display, in plain text format, the chats organized by phone number on the right.
By tapping on each chat, on the left side of the application, the conversations we have had with each phone number will be displayed.
From within the application itself, we can export chats to other formats to store them on our computer, work with them, share them, or do whatever we want.
The formats that the application offers when exporting WhatsApp chats are: txt, html and json.
Other methods to access WhatsApp chats
Using WhatsApp Viewer to access WhatsApp chats is a complex method intended only for those who cannot access chats through the application or who want to have the conversations in a text file.
For the latter, there is a much simpler method, since the application allows us to export the chats to a file to work with it, without having to resort to msgstore files.
To export WhatsApp chats, we must follow the steps shown below:
- We open the application.
- Next, click on the three points located in the upper right corner of the application and click on Settings.
- Within Settings, we press Cat.
- In the next window, click on Chat History and then in Export chat.
- Finally, we select which chat we want to save and we store it on our device, we share it with other applications, we send it by mail…