WhatsApp to let you switch between iPhone and Android without losing chat history: Here’s how it will work

WhatsApp to allow transfer of chat between iOS and Android (Image: WhatsApp)

If you are switching from iOS to Android, your WhatsApp chat history will stay intact. Provided you are using Samsung devices to begin with. WhatsApp is adding a new feature in which one can transfer chats including media files, voice notes from an iPhone to Android interface.

Want to securely take your WhatsApp history from one platform to another? We’re working to make this possible starting with @SamsungMobile devices, and it’s coming to @Android and iOS phones soon.

— Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) August 11, 2021

The feature that was announced during Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2021 event on August 11 will be coming to Samsung’s new foldables, aka Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 and other Samsung phones “in the coming weeks”. WhatsApp chat transfer from iOS to Android should eventually be available on other devices but there is no clarity when.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G launched with bigger, more useful cover display and water-resistant design

Earlier transfer of chats was only possible between phones running with the same mobile operating system. On switching from iOS to Android or vice versa, the chat history can be saved in the WhatsApp cloud backup feature where for iOS users it can be saved on their Cloud while for Android users it can be saved in Google drive but cannot be retrieved on the app.

The new feature transfers chat histories using physical lightning to USB-C cable rather than sending using the web. But if you have already transferred between OS and Android in the past only the current backup can be restored, the new feature won’t merge them together into a single chat history though. The backup will not overwrite any existing backups but will create two cloud backups.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G launched with water resistant design, under-display camera and S-Pen support

The new feature will allow transfers from iOS to Samsung new foldable devices launched at first and in the coming days to other Samsung devices running on Android 10. It is also not clear when the chat transfer will be possible from Android to iOS.