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Export a WhatsApp chat on iPhone

Export happens in the WhatsApp app on the phone, one chat at a time. It produces a .zip file holding the text of the messages and, if you ask for them, the photos, voice notes and videos.

Step by step

  1. Open the chat

    In WhatsApp, open the chat to export, then tap the contact's or group's name at the top of the screen.

  2. Export

    Scroll down to "Export Chat" and tap it.

  3. With or without media

    Choose to attach media to get the photos, voice notes and videos, or "Without Media" for the text alone, which is lighter.

  4. Keep the file

    Choose "Save to Files" to keep the .zip on the iPhone or in iCloud Drive, or send it to your computer (AirDrop, email if the file is small).

Good to know

  • Labels change from one version of WhatsApp to the next; the path stays the same: the chat's name, then export.
  • WhatsApp's help says an export with media may be limited to the 10,000 most recent messages, and to 40,000 without media. For a longer chat the beginning may be missing: check the date of the first message.
  • Media the phone never downloaded, or deleted, is not in the export: the text mentions it, the file is missing.
  • If a participant has turned on advanced chat privacy, WhatsApp no longer offers the export.
  • Times are those of the exporting phone, in its time zone and format (12 or 24 hours).
  • Keep the .zip as it is: it is the file a PDF's record will identify by its fingerprint.

Then, in Klarinbox

Drop the .zip as it is, without unzipping it, on Read a WhatsApp chat, including from the iPhone itself, in Safari: the chat appears in bubbles, with its photos. WhatsApp chat to PDF turns it into a dated PDF, for the period you choose, which states what it leaves out.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to unzip the .zip file?
No. Drop the whole .zip: text and media are read together, in the tab.