WhatsApp now officially supports cross-platform chat transfers between iOS and Android

WhatsApp had been testing transferring chat history between Android and iOS and today it finally made the full functionality official. So far it was only possible to transfer chat history between ecosystems with the help of some third-party data transfer tools, but these methods usually aren’t free, and they are finnicky to use.

A new way to keep the chats that mean the most 📱📲 Today, you’ll have the ability to transfer your entire chat history from Android to iOS and vice versa. Now you have the freedom to switch to and from your preferred devices.

— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) July 20, 2022

As of the time of this writing, only the Android to iPhone method is up on WhatsApp’s support site, and you’ll need to use the Move to iOS tool on Android to do this. You’ll also need to be on the latest version of WhatsApp on both the sending and receiving devices. You also must use the same phone number as your old phone or change it before transferring. The receiving iPhone must also be factory reset or new.

Based on the steps indicated in the instructions, WhatsApp has worked with Apple to piggyback its Move to iOS app to make a successful transfer of WhatsApp data to a phone on iOS. As per the support page, you’ll be able to transfer account information, profile photo, individual and group chats, chat history, chat media, and WhatsApp settings. You won’t be able to transfer WhatsApp call history or peer to peer payment messages.

Not being able to bring your WhatsApp conversations when switching between iOS and Android has long been a pain point of users switching between ecosystems. Although many messaging apps simply let you access messages and chats from any device, WhatsApp can only be used with a single phone number and with a single smartphone device. Only recently WhatsApp allowed for linked devices to access, send, and receive messages when the host device is offline.

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