faqs.md (3740B)
1 --- 2 icon: question 3 order: 100 4 --- 5 6 # Frequently Asked Questions 7 8 ## General 9 10 - **Is this really free?** 11 Yes. Render, Firebase, and UptimeRobot all have generous free tiers that are sufficient for personal use. You will typically never pay anything. 12 13 - **Is my data safe?** 14 Absolutely. The entire system is self-hosted. You own the database (Firebase) and the server (Render). The developers of this tool have zero access to your data. 15 16 - **Does the developer see my chats?** 17 No. The code connects directly from your Render server to your Firebase database using your personal API keys. There is no middleman server. 18 19 - **Is this legal?** 20 The tool uses standard WhatsApp Web protocols to function as a linked device. It is intended for personal archiving of your own conversations. 21 22 ## Features & Limitations 23 24 - **Does it save photos/videos?** 25 No. To keep the project free (Firebase offers limited storage), the logger only saves text content. Media files would fill up your free tier storage very quickly. 26 27 - **Does it save View Once messages?** 28 No. WhatsApp does not send the content of "View Once" media to linked devices/web clients, so the logger cannot see them. 29 30 - **Does it save WhatsApp Status?** 31 No, it cannot save WhatsApp statuses at this time. If you would like to add this feature to this project, please submit a pull request by uploading the updated code to [Github](https://github.com/notamitgamer/WhatsApp-Logger-Self-Hosted-/pulls). 32 33 - **Can I reply from the dashboard?** 34 No. This tool is designed strictly as a read-only archive to ensure maximum safety and simplicity. 35 36 - **Does it work with Group Chats?** 37 Yes! It automatically archives messages from any group you are part of, including messages sent by other participants. 38 39 - **Can I export my chats?** 40 Yes. Inside any chat on the dashboard, open the menu (three dots) and select "Download" to get a `.txt` file of the conversation. 41 42 ## Technical Setup 43 44 - **What is Render?** 45 Render is a cloud hosting platform. It provides the computer (server) that runs your logger 24/7 so your phone doesn't have to. 46 47 - **What is Firebase?** 48 Firebase is Google's database service. While Render processes the messages, Firebase acts as the permanent hard drive where logs are stored. 49 50 - **Do I need my phone on 24/7?** 51 No. Once you scan the QR code, the logger works independently via WhatsApp's Multi-Device feature. Your phone does not need to stay online continuously after linking. 52 53 - **What if Render sleeps?** 54 If the server sleeps, you will miss messages sent during that time. This is why setting up UptimeRobot (Step 5) is critical—it keeps the server awake. 55 56 - **How do I update the logger?** 57 In your Render dashboard, go to your service and click "Manual Deploy" -> "Deploy latest commit" to pull the newest code from GitHub. 58 59 - **Can I host this on a Raspberry Pi?** 60 Yes. The backend is standard Node.js. You can clone the repo and run `npm install && npm start`. You still need Firebase for the database. 61 62 - **How much storage do I have?** 63 The Firebase Free Tier (Spark Plan) gives you 1 GiB of storage. Since we only store text, this is enough for millions of messages. 64 65 ## Troubleshooting 66 67 - **Why is the QR code not loading?** 68 Your Render server might be starting up or deploying. Wait 30 seconds and refresh the page. Check Render logs if the issue persists. 69 70 - **Why does it say "No chats found"?** 71 The logger starts empty. It only records messages that arrive *after* you have linked it. Send a message to your phone to see it appear. 72 73 **I forgot my App PIN/Password** 74 On the lock screen, click "Forgot PIN". You can reset your local security using the server credentials (`AUTH_USER` and `AUTH_PASS`) you set in Render.