Skip to main content

You can finally move your WhatsApp chats from Android to iOS

Moving WhatsApp chats from Android to iOS has been a painful task for years. But not anymore, as Apple and WhatsApp have made the process a whole lot easier. Starting today, Apple is adding a feature that allows you to move chats between the two platforms. The feature is a part of Apple’s existing “Move to iOS” Android application. It’s worth noting that the feature is currently available for beta users only, so non-beta users might have to wait for a week or two as it’s rolled out in phases.

This is a big move since 2 million people use WhatsApp and, until now, there wasn’t an official method to move conversations between Android and iOS. There have been third-party solutions here and there, but nothing officially backed by Apple or WhatsApp. With the feature becoming available, users will be able to move their chats swiftly from Android to iOS.

image of a WhatsApp feature
Apple

In addition to needing the Move to iOS app, there are a few other requirements users need to be aware of. Your iPhone must be running iOS 15.5 or later, and your Android phone needs Android 5.0 or above. You also need the latest version of the Move to iOS app, the most recent version of WhatsApp on your Android phone, and both your Android and iOS devices need to be on the same Wi-Fi network.

Once you’re sorted with these minimum requirements, head over to the Move to iOS app on your Android device. Along with giving you prompts to transfer calls, texts, etc., you should see a new option for WhatsApp. The transfer process may take a while depending on how many conversations you have, but the steps are now there to bring your chats with you.

While it is annoying that it took so long for iPhone users to have this option, we are happy to see it arrive. WhatsApp remains one of the biggest chatting apps on the market, and now, you don’t have to worry about upending your conversations just because you want to switch smartphones.

Editors' Recommendations

Ayush Chourasia
Ayush works as an independent tech journalist. He has been writing since 2018 and has worked with publications like India…
11 features in iOS 17 that I can’t wait to use on my iPhone
ios 17 11 features i cant wait to use on my iphone mashup

Apple made a big splash at WWDC 2023 this year as it introduced the first major new product since the Apple Watch with the Vision Pro spatial computing headset. But of course, we also got software announcements for iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, and macOS 14 Sonoma.

Though I feel that iOS 17 is an overall underwhelming update compared to the past few years with iOS 14 and iOS 16, there’s still a lot of interesting stuff coming. The developer beta is out now, and people have been diving into all that iOS 17 has to offer so far. And you know what? There’s plenty to talk about — including a few things Apple didn't even mention during the keynote.

Read more
iOS 17: Apple didn’t add the one feature I’ve been waiting for
Multiwindow on Galaxy S23 Ultra (on left) and multiwindow with popup window on Oppo Find X6 Pro (on right).

Multiwindow on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (left) and multiwindow with pop-up window on the Oppo Find X6 Pro (right). Prakhar Khanna/Digital Trends

I’m a big-screen phone advocate. While I like the comfort of holding a compact phone (such as the Samsung Galaxy S23 with a 6.1-inch display), I prefer using devices like the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Oppo Find X6 Pro, Xiaomi 13 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Read more
Android is still beating the iPhone in a small (but important) way
Android App Timer on Google Pixel 6a and iOS App Limit on iPhone 11.

Our phones, as you know, can sometimes become depthless abysses. Almost everyone has experienced the inconquerable pull of spending hours switching from one social media or entertainment app futilely. And this routine even has a name -- "doomscrolling."

Thankfully, overlords that control the smartphone world, namely Google and Apple, have been conscious of this issue and offer tools that constantly remind you to spare your eyes from the screen and revisit the physical world to replenish your senses.

Read more