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You can now move your WhatsApp chats from Android to iOS (updated)

By Kenny Yeo - on 21 Jul 2022, 4:17pm

You can now move your WhatsApp chats from Android to iOS (updated)

This article was originally published on 14 June 2022.

21 July 2022 update: Apple said that feature is now fully rolled out to all markets and available to everyone. We've included the URL for downloading the transfer tool below.

It's taken a long while but it's finally here. Android users who are making the switch to an iPhone will now finally be able to move their WhatsApp chat histories with them.

To do this in the past would require third-party tools but not anymore. This feature will be built directly into the Move to iOS app that is available for free on the Google Play Store.

Why it took so long remains a mystery. WhatsApp was said to be testing this feature as far back as April last year, and iOS users were able to transfer their chat histories from iOS devices to Android devices as early as August last year.

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, said:

We're adding to WhatsApp the ability to securely switch between phones and transfer your chat history, photos, videos, and voice messages between Android and iPhone while maintaining end-to-end encryption. This is a top requested feature. We launched the ability [to] switch from iPhone-->Android last year, and now adding Android-->iPhone as well (sic).

(Image source: Apple)

To move your WhatsApp chat histories from your old Android phone to your new iPhone. Simply power up both phones, select the Move Data from Android option on your iPhone, open the Move to iOS app on your Android device, and follow the on-screen instructions. You should see the new option to move WhatsApp data.

One thing to note is that you can only migrate your WhatsApp chat histories when you are setting up an iPhone for the first time. This means if you already have an iPhone set up and running, you'll need to do a backup and reset to reinitiate the setup process and move your chat histories over. Another thing to note is that your chat histories remain encrypted during the migration process and Apple has no access to them.

If you need help moving data from your Android phone to your new iPhone, check out this guide by Apple. For more information, you can also check out these FAQs (1,2) by WhatsApp.

21 July 2022 update: Apple said that feature is now fully rolled out to all markets and available to everyone. The transfer tool Move to iOS can be found in the Google Play Store.

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