UPDATE: You can now transfer WhatsApp account information, profile photo, individual chats, group chats, chat history, media and settings between iOS and Android.
However, you won’t be able to transfer your call history or display name.
Amid all the new Samsung devices that got announced today at Galaxy Unpacked, something else caught my eye. WhatsApp is getting a new feature that will first be available to Samsung smartphones.
The popular chat app is finally bringing cross-platform chat transfer between iOS and Android devices. This has been one of its hugest problems as there has never been an official way to transfer chats when you migrate from iOS to Android and vice versa.
As shown during the Unpacked keynote, there’s a Transfer WhatsApp chats feature that will require you to scan a QR code provided to open WhatsApp and tap Start. When you do that you’ll get a prompt that says Getting chats ready that’ll need you to keep your iPhone unlocked and WhatsApp open.
You’ll need a lightning cable to Type-C to transfer chats.
The chat transfer includes text, photos, and voice notes and will be available for users in the coming weeks.
It’s worth noting that this feature will overwrite existing backups when you use it to migrate chats between devices. Also, WhatsApp won’t merge the chats on iOS and Android into a single chat history.
This is a welcome move for consumers on both operating systems. However, this feature is starting with Samsung Galaxy devices first and probably later on to other Android devices.
WhatsApp is really quickly working on much-needed features to catch up with rival messaging apps like Telegram and Signal.
They’re now working on letting the app work on multiple devices(up to 4 so far) without rerouting chats through a single phone.
Another feature recently they’re working on is independently encrypted cloud backups for chats.
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