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WhatsApp is making it easier to transfer your chat histories between two phones running the same OS (Android to Android or iOS to iOS). You can now move all your chats and attachments to a new phone by simply scanning a QR code. The new feature seems to have already been rolled out widely.
Until now, transferring your WhatsApp messages required a cloud backup. You first need to back up all the data to a cloud service (Google Drive on Android and iCloud on iOS) from your old phone. Then, set up WhatsApp on the new phone using the same phone number and download the backup. It’s a bit tedious process that also involves moving your messages to a third-party service. On top of it being a privacy risk, a WhatsApp backup may hit your cloud storage limits as well.
With the new QR code-based system, things are a lot simpler. Once you have set up your WhatsApp account on a new phone using the same phone number, you will get a QR code on the screen to transfer your messages from the old phone. To transfer, go to Settings > Chats > Chat transfer on your old phone and scan the QR code. You may need to grant some additional permissions to the app to use this feature. Note that you must keep both devices unlocked, connected to the same Wi-Fi, and near each other.
According to the company, you will not receive new messages during the transfer process. All incoming messages are paused, and you will receive them on the new phone once the transfer is completed. WhatsApp assures that “data is only shared between your two devices and is fully encrypted during transfer” (via). As said earlier, this feature doesn’t work for cross-platform transfer of WhatsApp messages from iOS to Android or vice versa. These transfers are a little complex.
WhatsApp’s QR code-based chat transferring system is rolling out widely
WhatsApp was first spotted working on this feature in April, with some beta users getting access to it early. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced a public rollout of the new chat transferring system. While the official announcement didn’t reveal its release date or minimum version requirement, the new feature is already rolling out widely.
It’s available on some of our devices at Android Headlines without needing a WhatsApp update (running version 2.23.11.77 for Android). This suggests the company is pushing the change through a server-side update. But if the feature hasn’t yet shown up for you, you can click here to download the latest version of the app from the Google Play Store.
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