---
title: "Back up a WhatsApp Business number before an employee leaves"
description: "When someone who runs a company WhatsApp number leaves or hands over the phone, keep an encrypted, searchable copy of its chats in a folder the business controls."
canonical: "https://kaptionai.com/blog/en/back-up-whatsapp-business-number-before-an-employee-leaves/"
lang: "en"
---

# Back up a WhatsApp Business number before an employee leaves

> When someone who runs a company WhatsApp number leaves or hands over the phone, keep an encrypted, searchable copy of its chats in a folder the business controls.

Canonical: https://kaptionai.com/blog/en/back-up-whatsapp-business-number-before-an-employee-leaves/

Many businesses run on one WhatsApp number per person. A salesperson, a receptionist, an account manager. Over months, that number fills up with customer questions, quotes, photos and voice notes.

Then the person leaves, changes role or hands the phone to someone else. The chats may be wiped, the phone reset, or the number moved. This article shows how to keep a password-encrypted, searchable copy of a WhatsApp Business number's chats in a folder the business controls, before that happens.

*Updated November 2026*

## What usually goes wrong

- **The phone is reset** before handover, and the chats go with it.
- **WhatsApp's own backup** sits in the employee's personal iCloud or Google Drive, not the company's.
- **Nobody exported anything.** "Export chat" works one chat at a time, by hand. With dozens of customers, it doesn't happen.

## Keep a copy the business owns

[Kaption Backups](/backups/) keeps one encrypted backup file of a WhatsApp account's chats in a folder you choose. It works with WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business, in WhatsApp Web with the Kaption extension for Chrome and Edge, and in the [Kaption desktop app for Mac and Windows](/desktop/).

The file holds every chat of that number: messages, contacts, groups, labels and [voice-note transcripts](/whatsapp-voice-notes-to-text/). On paid plans it can also hold photos, videos, voice notes and documents.

The point for a business is where the file lives. Pick a folder in the company's Google Drive, OneDrive or iCloud Drive, or on a company external drive. The cloud service syncs the encrypted file like any other file. Kaption does not sign in to it, and Kaption's servers never receive the file.

## Set it up while the employee is still there

Backups are per WhatsApp account. Set one up for each number you want to keep:

1. On the computer where that number runs in WhatsApp Web, install the Kaption extension, or use the Kaption desktop app.
2. Open Backups and pick a folder the company controls.
3. Set a password of at least 10 characters and store it in the company's password manager, not with the employee.
4. On a paid plan, turn on continuous backups so the file is updated every hour with what changed. On any plan, **Export now** makes a one-off copy.
5. After a browser restart, choose **Allow access** if the browser asks about the folder again.

## On the last day

- **Run a final backup.** Press **Back up now** on continuous backups, or use **Export now**.
- **Check that it opens.** Choose **View backup**, type the password and search for a recent customer.
- **Change the password if the employee knew it.** From then on, only the new password opens the backup file. Older copies, such as earlier exports, keep the password they were made with.

## After they leave

Anyone with access to the folder and the password can open the backup in Kaption on their own computer. A manager can read the history of a customer without the old phone. The backup opens read-only in a new tab, laid out like WhatsApp, with search across every chat and transcript.

## What it does not do

- **It does not move chats to a new phone** or into another WhatsApp account. It is view-only.
- **It does not replace a clear policy.** Tell staff that a work number's chats are backed up, and decide who can open them. Kaption makes no claim that backups meet any employment or data-protection rule.
- **It only has what was backed up.** Start it early, not on the last day.

For team-specific advice, see [WhatsApp backup for sales teams](/blog/en/whatsapp-backup-for-sales-teams/) and [WhatsApp backup for real estate agents](/blog/en/whatsapp-backup-for-real-estate-agents/).

## FAQ

### Does Kaption Backups work with WhatsApp Business?

Yes. It backs up the WhatsApp account that is linked in WhatsApp Web or the Kaption desktop app, whether it is WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business.

### Can I back up several numbers?

Backups are per WhatsApp account. Set up a backup for each number on the computer where it runs.

### Can the employee open the backup after leaving?

Only with access to the folder and the password. Keep the folder in a company account and change the password if they knew it.

### Can I put the chats onto the new employee's phone?

No. Kaption backups are view-only. The new person can read and search them on a computer.

### Are labels kept?

Yes. Labels and which chats have them are part of the backup.