I have an encrypted iTunes backup containing WhatsApp data and want to convert or open it in a format that lets me browse the messages, similar to how iMazing works. I've found the WhatsApp SQLite database file, but standard SQLite tools don't seem to open it. Has anyone found a reliable way to decrypt or convert the database, assuming it's my own authorized backup?
1 Answer
The main issue is probably SQLCipher rather than ordinary SQLite. For an authorized backup, you generally need to decrypt the iTunes backup first and retrieve its backup key using a suitable backup-decryption tool. Then you can open the WhatsApp database with SQLCipher, including from Python, by supplying the correct key and cipher settings. Once it opens, it can be queried much like a regular SQLite database.
That makes sense. I was able to extract the WhatsApp database file, but I didn’t realize it was still wrapped with SQLCipher, which explains why regular SQLite utilities won’t recognize it.