WhatsApp Rolling Out Ability to Transfer Chats Between iOS and Android

One of the biggest hurdles for customers looking to switch between Android and iOS is their inability to transfer their WhatsApp chats between the two different ecosystems. Now, that's coming to an end, as WhatsApp has officially announced that it will easily allow users to transfer their chats between Android and iOS.

Whatsapp Feature
As reported first by Engadget, WhatsApp used airtime during Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event to announce the new feature. WhatsApp tested the feature for the past few weeks and said it was difficult to implement due to "end-to-end encryption," requiring added assistance to make it work.

The feature will first arrive on Android devices, specifically Samsung smartphones, allowing users to initially transfer chats from iOS to Samsung smartphones. The transfer will include the chat itself, photos, videos, and voice memos, and should be available to Samsung users in the "coming weeks." WhatsApp has not said when the feature will arrive for a wider range of WhatsApp devices and on iOS.

Popular Stories

M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:07 am PDT by
Apple today updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, which is also available in updated iPad Pro and Vision Pro models. In addition, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage on Apple's online store, whereas the previous model maxed out at 2TB. However, the maximum amount of unified RAM available for this model remains 32GB. Like...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple today announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips. The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It features a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core, allowing the new iPad Pro to deliver up to 3.5x the AI performance than the previous model, and a third-generation ray-tracing ...
apple oct 2024 mac tease

Apple Expected to Announce These Two to Three Products 'This Week'

Sunday October 12, 2025 7:05 am PDT by
Apple plans to announce new products "this week," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple's "Mac Your Calendars" teaser last October In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the products set to be updated this week include the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, and "likely" the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, with all three likely to receive a spec bump with Apple's next-generation M5 chip. Gurman...
maxresdefault

Here's Everything Apple Announced Today

Wednesday October 15, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We didn't get a second fall event this year, but Apple did unveil updated products with a series of press releases that went out today. The M5 chip made an appearance in new MacBook Pro, Vision Pro, and iPad Pro models. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up our coverage and highlighted the main feature changes for each device below. MacBook Pro M5...
joz macbook tease

Apple Teases Upcoming M5 MacBook Pro Launch: 'Something Powerful is Coming'

Tuesday October 14, 2025 11:59 am PDT by
Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak today teased the launch of an upcoming product, saying "something powerful is coming" on social media. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. A short animation accompanying Joswiak's teaser reveals a brief glimpse of a MacBook Pro along with the words "coming soon." The shape of the MacBook Pro is a V, which is the Roman numeral...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday October 14, 2025 8:43 am PDT by
Apple's AirPods Max have now been available for almost five years, so what do we know about the second-generation version? According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Max will be lighter than the current ones, but exactly how much is as yet known. The current AirPods Max weigh 0.85 pounds (386.2 grams), excluding the charging case, making it one of the heavier...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
Vision Pro M5 Announcement

Apple Updates Vision Pro With M5 Chip, Dual Knit Band, and 120Hz Support

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:14 am PDT by
Apple today updated the Vision Pro headset with its next-generation M5 chip for faster performance, and a more comfortable Dual Knit Band. The M5 chip has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, and a 16-core Neural Engine, and we have confirmed the Vision Pro still has 16GB of RAM. With the M5 chip, the Vision Pro offers faster performance and longer battery life compared...
macbook pro blue

Apple's M5 MacBook Pro Imminent: What to Expect

Tuesday October 14, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by
Apple is going to launch a new version of the MacBook Pro as soon as tomorrow, so we thought we'd go over what to expect from Apple's upcoming Mac. M5 Chip The MacBook Pro will be one of the first new devices to use the next-generation M5 chip, which will replace the M4 chip. The M5 is built on TSMC's more advanced 3-nanometer process, and it will bring speed and efficiency improvements. ...
MacBook Pro M5 Screen

New MacBook Pro Does Not Include a Charger in the Box in Europe

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:59 am PDT by
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip does not include a charger in the box in European countries, including the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and others, according to Apple's online store. In the U.S. and all other countries outside of Europe, the new MacBook Pro comes with Apple's 70W USB-C Power Adapter, but European customers miss out....

Top Rated Comments

zorinlynx Avatar
55 months ago
I'm rolling my eyes so hard at WhatsApp getting features today to fix issues that Telegram never had because it had good multiple device support from the start. Not to mention WhatsApp has always done things in a clunky manner, such as the desktop app relaying everything through your phone. It's sad that it has such a large user base making it hard for people to move to something better.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
marmiteturkey Avatar
55 months ago
…and how about an iPad app?

I HATE whatsapp.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
55 months ago

('https://www.macrumors.com/2021/08/11/whatsapp-transfer-between-android-ios/')

One of the biggest hurdles for customers looking to switch between Android and iOS is their inability to transfer their WhatsApp chats between the two different ecosystems. Now, that's coming to an end, as WhatsApp has officially announced that it will easily allow users to transfer their chats between Android and iOS.



As reported first by Engadget ('https://www.engadget.com/whatsapp-import-chat-history-android-ios-144745811.html'), WhatsApp used airtime during Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event to announce the new feature. WhatsApp tested the feature for the past few weeks and said it was difficult to implement due to "end-to-end encryption," requiring added assistance to make it work.

The feature will first arrive on Android devices, specifically Samsung smartphones, allowing users to initially transfer chats from iOS to Samsung smartphones. The transfer will include the chat itself, photos, videos, and voice memos, and should be available to Samsung users in the "coming weeks." WhatsApp has not said when the feature will arrive for a wider range of WhatsApp devices and on iOS.

Article Link: WhatsApp Rolling Out Ability to Transfer Chats Between iOS and Android ('https://www.macrumors.com/2021/08/11/whatsapp-transfer-between-android-ios/')
Ahhh! Making the transition very easy. I’m sure it will benefit both IOS and Android software.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ian87w Avatar
55 months ago
Whoa that's a long awaited feature. Hopefully it can go both ways (Android to iOS).
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alijahsimon Avatar
55 months ago
That’s weird; I’ve been able to do this since 2014 with Telegram with zero effort thanks to its secure and encrypted cloud backups. WhatsApp still doesn’t do this? ?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sunapple Avatar
55 months ago
Oh. My. God. I tried transferring Whatsapp messages from my grandma’s old Motorola to her new iPhone using 3rd party software; it cost me three hours, €30, it didn’t work and all data was lost with no recovery possible.

Now they’re rolling this out. But it’s just for one specific kind of transfer and one brand. Great work guys!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)