{"id":497,"date":"2016-03-28T14:05:23","date_gmt":"2016-03-28T14:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.digitalforensicscorp.com\/blog\/?p=497"},"modified":"2025-03-12T18:50:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T18:50:53","slug":"decrypting-encrypted-whatsapp-databases-without-the-key","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digitalforensics.com\/blog\/software\/decrypting-encrypted-whatsapp-databases-without-the-key\/","title":{"rendered":"Decrypting encrypted WhatsApp databases without the key"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>WhatsApp is a popular online chat app used across the globe. Every month our lab receives lots of requests to decrypt encrypted WhatsApp databases without the crypt key.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article we\u2019ll speak about available methods of the key extraction or recovery and the perspectives of decrypting WhatsApp databases without the crypt key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"WhatsApp_Crypt_Key_Location\"><\/span>WhatsApp Crypt Key Location<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, what is the crypt key? It is a WhatsApp database file with a \u201ckey\u201d name stored in your WhatsApp account: <strong>userdata\/data\/com.whatsapp\/files\/<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"415\" height=\"642\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalforensicscorp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/whatsapp_crypt_key_recovery_forensics_weare4n6.png\" alt=\"WhatsApp key recovery forensic wear. \" class=\"wp-image-498\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1;width:411px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.digitalforensics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/whatsapp_crypt_key_recovery_forensics_weare4n6.png 415w, https:\/\/www.digitalforensics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/whatsapp_crypt_key_recovery_forensics_weare4n6-194x300.png 194w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 415px) 100vw, 415px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Figure 1. The &#8220;key&#8221; file<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Crypt_Key_Extraction_and_Recovery\"><\/span>The Crypt Key Extraction and Recovery<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The main problem of decryption encrypted WhatsApp databases is that the key is always stored on the phone, whether it\u2019s an iOS iPhone, Windows, or Linux\/Android device. But encrypted databases can be also stored on it\u2019s SD card, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"418\" height=\"144\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalforensicscorp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/whatsapp_encrypted_databases_forensics_weare4n6.png\" alt=\"Encrypted database forensics for\" class=\"wp-image-499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.digitalforensics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/whatsapp_encrypted_databases_forensics_weare4n6.png 418w, https:\/\/www.digitalforensics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/whatsapp_encrypted_databases_forensics_weare4n6-300x103.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 418px) 100vw, 418px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Figure 2. Encrypted WhatsApp databases<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Usually, to extract a WhatsApp key, a digital forensic examiner must perform a physical extraction from the device. But it\u2019s not always possible due to software and hardware issues of some mobile devices. Of course, there are methods of extracting the crypt key from non-rooted devices, but these techniques can be applied to a limited number of devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your client has the SIM-card used for the crypt key generation on the examined device, we can get a new key via reinstalling WhatsApp. If you restore WhatsApp, the new key can be used to decrypt old WhatsApp databases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Crypt key mining: a digital forensic examiner can try to restore the deleted key from the examined mobile device. Of course, you\u2019ll need a physical image of the device. Extract strings and choose those with morphology similar to the crypt keys. Then, try to use these keys to decrypt the encrypted files you have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"WhatsApp_Crypt_Tools\"><\/span>WhatsApp Crypt Tools<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Luckily, there\u2019s a GitHub repository made specifically to <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/ElDavoo\/wa-crypt-tools\">decrypt and encrypt WhatsApp files<\/a> with ease. The tool is able to handle .crypt12, .crypt15, and .crypt14 file types. In order to decrypt encrypted WhatsApp messages, you must have access to the key file or 64-character key. The tool can be installed directly on your computer or installed through Google Collab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the tool installed your device can create key files, decrypt, and encrypt by reading simple commands. The GitHub repository layouts out everything from step 1 to the final measure. It also provides an FAQ that documents common issues. The repository is well managed with frequent updates from its contributors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Perspectives_of_Decryption_of_Encrypted_WhatsApp_Databases_Without_the_Crypt_Key\"><\/span>The Perspectives of Decryption of Encrypted WhatsApp Databases Without the Crypt Key<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Nowadays there are no public solutions for the decryption of encrypted WhatsApp databases without the crypt key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"748\" height=\"476\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalforensicscorp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/whatsapp_encrypted_databases_decrypted_weare4n6.png\" alt=\"whatsapp_encrypted_databases_decrypted_weare4n6\" class=\"wp-image-500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.digitalforensics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/whatsapp_encrypted_databases_decrypted_weare4n6.png 748w, https:\/\/www.digitalforensics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/whatsapp_encrypted_databases_decrypted_weare4n6-300x191.png 300w, https:\/\/www.digitalforensics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/whatsapp_encrypted_databases_decrypted_weare4n6-512x326.png 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 748px) 100vw, 748px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Figure 3. Decrypted WhatsApp database (confidential information is not displayed)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In our opinion, there are two main ways to solve the problem:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reverse engineering of WhatsApp code in order to understand the encryption algorithm. Very often, the bugs in code allow the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalforensics.com\/digital-forensics\/cell-phone-forensics\">cell phone forensic expert<\/a> to make the development of a decryption method much easier or even find backdoors to help decrypt the data very quickly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Using mainframes or clouds to brute-force the crypt key. This technique shows very good results in data recovery and decryption. Of course, it\u2019s too expensive to use for WhatsApp database decryption.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have any questions about WhatsApp database decryption, feel free to contact us using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalforensicscorp.com\/blog\/contacts-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this form<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WhatsApp is a popular online chat app used across the globe. Every month our lab receives lots of&hellip;","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":2339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"csco_display_header_overlay":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-497","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-software","8":"cs-entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Art of Decrypting WhatsApp Databases<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"WhatsApp offers powerful encryption but can you decrypt WhatsApp data within? We provide a tutorial on how to decrypt and encrypt WhatsApp.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalforensics.com\/blog\/software\/decrypting-encrypted-whatsapp-databases-without-the-key\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Decrypting encrypted WhatsApp databases without the key\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WhatsApp offers powerful encryption but can you decrypt WhatsApp data within? We provide a tutorial on how to decrypt and encrypt WhatsApp.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.digitalforensics.com\/blog\/software\/decrypting-encrypted-whatsapp-databases-without-the-key\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Resources for Sextortion and Online Blackmail Victims\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DigitalForensicsCorp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-28T14:05:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-12T18:50:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.digitalforensics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/whatsapp-892926_960_720.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"533\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Viktor Sobiecki\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ForensicsCorp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ForensicsCorp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Viktor Sobiecki\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.digitalforensics.com\\\/blog\\\/software\\\/decrypting-encrypted-whatsapp-databases-without-the-key\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.digitalforensics.com\\\/blog\\\/software\\\/decrypting-encrypted-whatsapp-databases-without-the-key\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Viktor Sobiecki\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.digitalforensics.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/db7b63895c111dc8ed48df38d20b84ce\"},\"headline\":\"Decrypting encrypted WhatsApp databases without the key\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-28T14:05:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-12T18:50:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.digitalforensics.com\\\/blog\\\/software\\\/decrypting-encrypted-whatsapp-databases-without-the-key\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":560,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.digitalforensics.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.digitalforensics.com\\\/blog\\\/software\\\/decrypting-encrypted-whatsapp-databases-without-the-key\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.digitalforensics.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/whatsapp-892926_960_720.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Cybersecurity Tips, Services, and Key Resources for Cybercrime Victims\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.digitalforensics.com\\\/blog\\\/software\\\/decrypting-encrypted-whatsapp-databases-without-the-key\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.digitalforensics.com\\\/blog\\\/software\\\/decrypting-encrypted-whatsapp-databases-without-the-key\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Art of Decrypting WhatsApp Databases\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.digitalforensics.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.digitalforensics.com\\\/blog\\\/software\\\/decrypting-encrypted-whatsapp-databases-without-the-key\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.digitalforensics.com\\\/blog\\\/software\\\/decrypting-encrypted-whatsapp-databases-without-the-key\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.digitalforensics.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/whatsapp-892926_960_720.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-28T14:05:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-12T18:50:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"WhatsApp offers powerful encryption but can you decrypt WhatsApp data within? 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