Interactive orientation tool
Map the potential
evidence routes.
Select the known circumstances to identify sources that may merit preservation and examination. The result is deliberately qualified and is not a recovery promise.
As of · Rules revision 2.0
This date identifies the published source-mapping rules. It is not a claim that a particular device, provider configuration or acquisition method has been laboratory-tested. Recheck current support and the actual configuration at instruction.
Potential evidence routes
Assess each source independently. A source being present does not establish that the requested content survives.
Device: Potential source
Accessible chat databases, calls, identifiers, attachments, media and database remnants. An unlocked device does not guarantee application access.
Retained backup: Requires identification
Identify any retained backup, its originating device/platform, method, date, content exclusions and encryption. A backup date after deletion or reset may not preserve earlier content.
Account / tenant: Requires authority and configuration checks
Configured iCloud or Google application backup, with encryption material where required. Authorised linked-session collection is a separate, state-changing route. Account-held data is assessed independently of whether a retained backup has been identified. Access availability does not establish completeness or recovery of deleted content.
Supplied export: Requires identification
Identify any export or migration copy already held, the source account, creator, method, time, selection criteria and omissions. A provider-native export may be part of a documented acquisition; its label alone does not establish completeness or integrity.
Existing endpoint: Requires identification
Existing WhatsApp Desktop or Web data may hold only synchronised history. Confirm authority, identity, retention and the period represented; do not create a new link to test availability.
Limits and preservation
- A newly linked session is not a historic archive. Linking may notify the account holder and alter state.
- This is an orientation source map, not a probability, quotation or recovery promise. Lawful authority must be established separately for every device, account and third-party record.
- A source may exist without containing deleted or expired content. Validate fragments and context; absence from a screen or extraction does not by itself prove deletion.
- Recheck the exact configuration at instruction. This rules date is not a claim of laboratory validation, universal tool support or practitioner endorsement.
Important limitation
A map, not
a conclusion.
Feasibility can change with one model number, software update, password, backup date or linked computer. A professional assessment confirms the actual device and records before substantive work is proposed.
Confidential case review
