Popular messaging app WhatsApp is upgrading its software with another fantastic feature that would allow users to transfer their chat history – including all conversations, images, and voice notes, from iOS to Android without a hassle.
This widely-requested feature was announced yesterday at the Samsung Unpacked Event, unveiling that the feature would first roll out in Samsung’s latest foldable phones: Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3, along with others in the coming weeks. However, it’s unclear when the iOS to Android transfers would be available for other devices.
Image Source: WhatsApp
However, the question arises, how will the transfer be possible between two different software? According to WhatsApp, the new feature wouldn’t transfer chat histories via the internet. Instead, it would use a physical Lightning to USB-C cable for this.
But, suppose you’ve previously transferred your chat histories between iOS and Android and have two separate WhatsApp backups in the cloud. In that case, the latest transfer feature won’t merge both these histories into a single chat history. Instead, if you do transfer your WhatsApp chat history and then back it up, it will overwrite all your existing backups.
According to WhatsApp, its upcoming feature would allow transfers only between iOS and Samsung’s latest foldable phones first, and then on other Samsung devices running Android versions 10 or over “in the coming weeks”. However, the messaging service refused to mention when the feature will arrive for non-Samsung Android devices or when will it come up with Android to iOS transfers.
The Facebook-owned company further mentioned that formulating a feature like this was difficult as the app supports end-to-end encryption. However, many questions have been raised from time to time over this feature. If you’re a bit shaky about WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption too, then you can always back up your security with a reliable VPN service offering 256-bit encryption.
The new chat history transfer feature would be a treat to all users. It would eliminate the frustration of history transfers between two different operating systems, which was previously impossible since Android chat histories are backed up on Google Drive, and iOS’s are on iCloud.
