---
title: "WhatsApp Cloud Capture / WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business"
slug: "introduction-wca"
status: "update"
updated: 2026-04-01T06:46:03Z
published: 2026-04-01T06:46:44Z
canonical: "docs.smarsh.com/introduction-wca"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.smarsh.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# WhatsApp Cloud Capture / WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business

WhatsApp Cloud Capture is a web session that runs parallel to the connected WhatsApp session on a mobile device. The solution archives chat messages from the regular WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business applications on both Android and iOS. This solution requires the user to install the native WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business application on their device.

The solution archives all communication in the background without user intervention.

The solution works in the background to archive the following features from WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business:

- Chat messages
- Deleted and edited messages
- Images
- Audio clips
- Text and multimedia file attachments

WhatsApp Cloud Capture archives historical data for up to two weeks. Data is archived in real time when a user is using WhatsApp on multiple devices.

The captured communication can be archived to a centralized company archive. The archived messages are stored in the archive with the message content, recipient number, employee email, and other message metadata.

> **Note**
> 
> WhatsApp Cloud Capture does not capture audio and video calls from WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business.

You can use this solution when:

- Your organization allows using WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business for work-related communications.
- You have corporate or BYOD devices in your organization.
- Your employees use WhatsApp to communicate with customers, stakeholders, and other employees.
- You do not want your employees to install an application to archive WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business chats.

> [!NOTE]
> ![](https://cdn.document360.io/20248637-fef6-4111-82b6-c3bf43c0155e/Images/Documentation/Picture 1(1).svg?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-10T16%3A18%3A24Z&se=2026-11-10T17%3A18%3A24Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=GqIYaL4%2FqORtdKGh8DZ0AH1EuV2csloY4zr03a%2BwYYE%3D) Some topics in this documentation are private. [Log in](https://identity.document360.io/Account/Login?ReturnUrl=%2Fconnect%2Fauthorize%2Fcallback%3Fclient_id%3DKbSiteAngular%26scope%3Dopenid%2520email%2520profile%2520kbSiteAdmin%2520offline_access%26response_type%3Dcode%26redirect_uri%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fdocs.smarsh.com%252Fsignin-oidc%26state%3Dreturn_to%253D%25252Fcapture-mobile%25252Fdocs%26session%3Dtrue%26property%3Duser%26defaultStrategy%3Doidc%26code_challenge%3Dzu9Vc2Rj6bacMj8g1Gkw_DoebOD_UcUV7EHy8vfpBe4%26code_challenge_method%3DS256) to the Smarsh documentation portal to access them.

### Self Onboarding

Self-onboard WhatsApp Cloud Capture users to Capture Mobile through the Capture Mobile Admin Portal. For more information, see [Self-Onboarding to WhatsApp Cloud Capture](/capture-mobile/docs/self-onboardingtowhatsappcloudcapturedoc).

### Reports

View [daily reports](/capture-mobile/docs/whatsapp-cloud-capture-reports) generated by WhatsApp Cloud Capture.

### Troubleshooting

Find solutions to common issues and errors. For more information, see [Troubleshooting Scenarios](/capture-mobile/docs/troubleshooting-scenarios-wca).