WhatsApp can save any chat, one-on-one or group, as a file: a text copy of every message with its date, time and sender, plus the photos and other media if you want them. Here is how on each device, and what you can do with the file afterwards.
On iPhone
- Open the chat or group you want to export.
- Tap the contact's or group's name at the top.
- Scroll down and tap Export chat.
- If the chat has photos or other media, choose Without media, With all media or With selected media….
- Choose where the file goes. Save to Files › On My iPhone keeps it on your phone; Mail or Messages sends it to yourself.
WhatsApp puts everything into one ZIP file. Keep it zipped: WhatsAnalyze opens the ZIP as it is.
On Android
- Open the chat or group.
- Tap ⋮ in the top right, then More › Export chat.
- Choose Without media or Include media.
- Pick where to send it: Gmail, Google Drive, Quick Share or another app. If you have added WhatsAnalyze to your home screen, it is in that list and opens the chat straight away.
On a computer: WhatsApp Web, Windows and Mac
WhatsApp Web and the Windows app can export chats too:
- Open the chat or group.
- Click ⋮ › Export chat.
- Choose All messages, or Custom date range to export only part of the chat.
- Click Export.
You get a ZIP file with the text only: WhatsApp Web and Windows leave out photos and other media, and view-once and disappearing messages. If Export chat isn't in the menu, update WhatsApp or reload WhatsApp Web, or export the chat on your phone instead.
The Mac app works like the iPhone: click the contact's or group's name, then Export chat, and choose whether to include media.
With or without media?
- Without media is quicker and smaller, and has everything the statistics, the AI reading and a PDF of the text need.
- With media adds the photos, videos and other files. Choose it if your PDF should show the pictures, or for the court evidence PDF, which lists every attachment with its own fingerprint.
Is there a limit? WhatsApp's help page used to say that an export holds at most the latest 10,000 messages with media, or 40,000 without, because of email size limits. The current page no longer names a limit. If an export with media seems to start too late, export the chat again without media.
What's in the file
- A text file with every message, its date, time and sender. On iPhone it is called
_chat.txtand sits inside the ZIP. - If you included media: the photos and files themselves, next to the text file.
- It is a copy, not a backup. WhatsApp can't import it again, so use WhatsApp's chat backup to move your chats to a new phone.
- View-once messages are never exported.
Export a WhatsApp chat to PDF
WhatsApp has no PDF export of its own. Open your export here and WhatsAnalyze turns it into one:
- Chat PDF: the whole conversation, ready to print or keep, with the photos if you exported with media. The preview is free; the full PDF is a one-time purchase.
- Court evidence PDF: numbered lines, exact timestamps, a SHA-256 fingerprint of your export and an exhibit list, made for lawyers, courts and authorities.
Both are made in your browser: your chat isn't uploaded.
Troubleshooting
- There is no "Export chat": update WhatsApp. On iPhone it is at the bottom of the contact or group info; on Android it is under ⋮ › More.
- You have a file ending in .crypt14 or .crypt15: that is WhatsApp's encrypted backup, which no other app can read. Export the chat as shown above instead.
- WhatsAnalyze finds no messages: drop the ZIP or .txt exactly as WhatsApp made it, not a screenshot, a PDF or a backup.
