WhatsApp: Now you can keep chat history when switching phones

Switching from one phone to another, or from an old phone to a new one, or from one OS to another? Fret not — it should mean wiping out all your WhatsApp data. Now, you can move chat history, including photos, videos and other file formats too.

In a tweet on Friday (September 3, 2021), WhatsApp stated the few feature will enable users to keep their data, even if they move phones — and even if they switch operating systems, say from iOS to Samsung, or vice versa.

The data port option will soon be available across all devices, according to the popular messaging platform. In effect, WhatsApp users can move chat history, including photos videos, gifs and other media shared on their existing phones.

“Changing your phone no longer means losing your chat history. Starting today, you can move your WhatsApp history from iOS to Samsung. And soon across all devices,” WhatsApp stated in a tweet.

WhatsApp has also introduced a new feature allowing users to send photos and videos that disappear after they’ve been opened via View Once on WhatsApp. This gives users more control over privacy of chats, according to the platform.

Facebook bought WhatsApp in February 2014 for about $16 billion, broken down into $4 billion in cash and about $12 billion in Facebook shares. As part of the deal, the government provided WhatsApp's founders and employees with an additional $3 billion in restricted stock units.