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I wish it had been written a couple years ago, when I lost all the messages I had in my Windows Phone. The official Whatsapp guide[1] reads to this day "at this

I wish it had been written a couple years ago, when I lost all the messages I had in my Windows Phone. The official Whatsapp guide[1] reads to this day "at this time it is not possible to transfer your chat history to an Android or iPhone", which I can't interpret as a good faith error no matter how hard I try. [1] https://faq.whatsapp.com/en/wp/28060005 https://faq.whatsapp.com/en/wp/28060005

blntechie 7y ago
WhatsApp still cannot transfer message backups between Android phones and iPhones. I switch between both with new devices every 1 or 2 years and it always a pain losing the messages.
- gsich 7y ago
  Export via email is a possible solution, if you care for the messages, but not where they are displayed.
- Fnoord 7y ago
  Why do you need to save messages 1 to 2 years old?
  - OJFord 7y ago
    Why should I not have them in the event that I want them? Do you delete all your emails and wipe your contacts when you replace a device too?
    - Fnoord 7y ago
      1) Your contacts are saved elsewhere. 2) Yes, I delete emails I don't need anymore. Almost all WhatsApp content is not important. 3) I upload pictures/videos to my Nextcloud NAS after which I delete them. Goes automatically.
      - OJFord 7y ago
        But 1 and 2 are 'yes, I do want to keep things'. All I'm saying is WhatsApp (and similar) make that a pain, deliberately to try to lock you in, and it's annoying.
        Fnoord 7y ago
        With regards to 1) they are simply saved elsewhere, in your Contacts. You can import/export that. It is a sacrifice of user-unfriendly security. They could've easily made a backup function which does not (solely) involve Google Drive. They opted not to. However there's an upside to this as well: if you delete that key, you're done for. If your discussion partner(s) do the same, the data between you and your discussion partners is also done for. I agree with you, but I don't find it difficult to work around it, and the previous solutions (plaintext, unencrypted logs) were terrible.
LeoNatan25 7y ago
It's not possible because they use different frameworks on each operating system. On iOS, they use Apple's Core Data, which is optimal for what they need, but is not portable as Core Data is closed source. That's not to say that there cannot be a method to do this, just saying the first major hurdle they'd hit.

blntechie 7y ago

WhatsApp still cannot transfer message backups between Android phones and iPhones. I switch between both with new devices every 1 or 2 years and it always a pain losing the messages.

gsich 7y ago
Export via email is a possible solution, if you care for the messages, but not where they are displayed.
Fnoord 7y ago
Why do you need to save messages 1 to 2 years old?
- OJFord 7y ago
  Why should I not have them in the event that I want them? Do you delete all your emails and wipe your contacts when you replace a device too?
  - Fnoord 7y ago
    1) Your contacts are saved elsewhere. 2) Yes, I delete emails I don't need anymore. Almost all WhatsApp content is not important. 3) I upload pictures/videos to my Nextcloud NAS after which I delete them. Goes automatically.
    - OJFord 7y ago
      But 1 and 2 are 'yes, I do want to keep things'. All I'm saying is WhatsApp (and similar) make that a pain, deliberately to try to lock you in, and it's annoying.
      - Fnoord 7y ago
        With regards to 1) they are simply saved elsewhere, in your Contacts. You can import/export that. It is a sacrifice of user-unfriendly security. They could've easily made a backup function which does not (solely) involve Google Drive. They opted not to. However there's an upside to this as well: if you delete that key, you're done for. If your discussion partner(s) do the same, the data between you and your discussion partners is also done for. I agree with you, but I don't find it difficult to work around it, and the previous solutions (plaintext, unencrypted logs) were terrible.

LeoNatan25 7y ago

It's not possible because they use different frameworks on each operating system. On iOS, they use Apple's Core Data, which is optimal for what they need, but is not portable as Core Data is closed source. That's not to say that there cannot be a method to do this, just saying the first major hurdle they'd hit.