According to WABetaInfo and 9to5Google, WhatsApp is working on a way for users to transfer their chat history from iOS to Android. The functionality might address one of the most irritating issues with Facebook’s messaging service: the fact that you can’t transfer a backup of your messages between iPhone and Android, only between phones running the same operating system. Since at least April, details of the in-development functionality have appeared in the app.
According to screenshots supplied by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp’s iOS app now has a new “Move chats to Android” option. A second picture shows a popup that instructs users to leave their iPhone unlocked and WhatsApp open throughout the transfer. The majority of evidence thus far has pointed to an iOS to Android transfer feature, although WABetaInfo has previously claimed that the opposite will be feasible as well.
According to XDA Developers, WhatsApp’s new transfer feature might be included in a new Google “Switch to Android” iOS app in development. Switch to Android, similar to Apple’s “Move to iOS” software for converting customers from Android to iOS, may make it easier to switch to Google’s operating system. According to XDA Developers, code in Google’s app implies it may interact with WhatsApp’s unreleased transfer tool.
The migration feature has been tested at the same time as WhatsApp’s multi-device support, which allows users to view their chats from different devices without having to go through a single phone. WABetaInfo reports that the company is working on a method to move chat histories across various phone numbers, in addition to moving them between platforms. At this time, no one knows when any of these features will be publicly available.