How to Export WhatsApp Chat Data on iPhone

Export WhatsApp Chats and Data on iPhone

Want to get your conversations out of WhatsApp and save pictures and videos as well? Find out here how to export a WhatsApp chat and data on iPhone.

First, Short River = Short Name

If your river is short, do not waste many a letter naming it.

Consequently, Roe River near Great Falls is competing for the title of the world’s shortest running water with a river in Lincoln City called D River. The winner seems clear.

Now, conversations in WhatsApp tend to expand and grow with words and videos flowing, and possibly a letter wasted here or there. If you want to cut these short (and save some space on your iPhone), do export the data first:

How to Export WhatsApp Chat Data on iPhone

Time needed: 3 minutes

To save a chat’s text messages and media from WhatsApp on iPhone in a format you can easily open and convert anywhere:

  1. Go to Settings in WhatsApp.

  2. Open Chats.

  3. Select Export chat.

  4. Select the conversation you want to export.

  5. Choose which portion of content you want to save from the conversation.

    Attach Media: WhatsApp will export everything including photos, voice messages and videos sent or received in the conversation.
    Without Media: WhatsApp will export only the text messages (including emoji).
    Just text: If the conversation is just text, WhatsApp will automatically pick the latter choice.

  6. Pick how you want to save the exported chat.

    It’s a ZIP: You will have all options available for .zip files on your iPhone. These include sharing using AirDrop, saving to online drives such as iCloud Drive or Google Drive, attaching to an email, and more.
    Might be mighty: WhatsApp export archives can be large. With a big archive, it is best to save to an online drive you can then access from a desktop machine.

Done exporting? How to Reduce WhatsApp Storage on an iPhone

Export in WhatsApp 2.20

To export WhatsApp chats from WhatsApp 2.20:

  1. Go to the Chats tab (at the bottom) in WhatsApp on the iPhone.
    Go to the "Chats" tab in WhatsApp
  2. Swipe left over the chat you want to export.
  3. Tap More (•••).
    Tap "More" for the chat you want to export from WhatsApp
  4. Select Export Chat from the menu that has appeared.
    Select "Export Chat" from the menu
  5. Choose whether to include media files in the export.
    Choose what data to export
  6. When WhatsApp has finished creating the archive, pick how to save it.
    Choose how to save the exported chat data using the iOS sharing sheet
  7. If the sharing sheet has not disappeared on its own, tap or Done (depending on the iOS version).

How to Export WhatsApp Chat and Data on iPhone: FAQ

In what format does WhatsApp export?

WhatsApp will potentially export everything in a chat, though not necessarily in its native format:

  • Text messages are saved to a single “_chat.txt” file.
    It contains time-coded text (in Unicode UTF-8 format) as well as references to attached files (including the file name as exported from WhatsApp).
  • Audio messages export to .opus files.
    The OPUS codec is used for streaming voice and music, e.g., in Voice over IP. You can typically open OPUS files using software such as VLC media player or converter the files online.
  • Pictures of all formats go to .jpg files.
  • Videos of all formats are saved as .mp4 files.
    Files using the MPEG-4 format contain video and audio (as well as subtitles) and are almost universally used by Apple Music, for example. A wide variety of media players (including iTunes, Windows Video and VLC media player) will let you open mp4 files.

Can I import data back into WhatsApp?

No.

You cannot currently import exported data directly back into WhatsApp.

(How to export WhatsApp chat and data on iPhone tested with WhatsApp 2.23–2.24; first published May 2018, last updated September 2024)

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