- Lawrence Ng
iOS to Android WhatsApp Chat History Transfers To Be Rolled Out in Z Fold 3, Z Flip 3
Moving from one phone to another, but worried that you won’t be able to see your old WhatsApp messages anymore? Well, WhatsApp just solved that problem as it will let you transfer your chat history when you switch from an iOS to an Android device. Yep, that includes all the voice clips, photos and conversations you shared on the messaging platform.
Credit: Samsung
For now, the feature — revealed to the public at Samsung Unpacked — will only facilitate transfers from iOS to the tech giant’s Z Fold 3, Z Flip 3 and other Samsung phones "in the coming weeks". Currently, it works with Samsung’s transfer software called Smart Switch.
Smart Switch can help you transfer photos, music, calendars, notes, contacts and others to Samsung Galaxy devices. The data migration tool will let you move your WhatsApp chat history as well.
Over time, WhatsApp will allow you to transfer your data between various iOS and Android phones.
The announcement confirmed leaks from WABetaInfo that hinted at WhatsApp’s working towards chat migration between different platforms.
Other product leaks point to WhatsApp’s unconfirmed plans to integrate itself into the Google Data Transfer Tool, which can let you move files and other data from an iOS to an Android device.
Credit: WhatsApp
If you want to enjoy this feature, you must connect your old and new phone with a USB-C to Lightning cable and open the Smart Switch app. The new phone will flash a message prompting you to scan a QR code with your old phone and to export your WhatsApp chat history. You will then use your new gadget to log into WhatsApp and import your messages.
According to WhatsApp, creating this feature was necessary to meet users’ needs.
"We’re excited for the first time to make it easy for people to securely transfer their WhatsApp history from one operating system to another. This has been one of our most requested features from users for years and we worked together with operating systems and device manufacturers to solve it," said Sandeep Paruchuri, product manager at WhatsApp, in a statement.
In August 2021, WhatsApp introduced a feature called View Once. This gives users the opportunity to send photos and videos that will disappear once the receiver opens them. A few weeks before that, the platform launched Joinable Calls, which allows you to participate in ongoing group calls.
Written by Sophia Lopez