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Also, you can't migrate WhatsApp between iPhone and Android. There's a utility called BackupTrans, which follows an extremely convoluted process including a ste

Also, you can't migrate WhatsApp between iPhone and Android. There's a utility called BackupTrans, which follows an extremely convoluted process including a step where they install an old version of WhatsApp. It seemed to work but it trips some wire and WhatsApp put me in an hour-long timeout state, twice. Since I very much depend on WhatsApp, I dare not use it anymore.

heavenlyblue 6y ago
You can still download the history as a text file though - I did that.
- anonms-coward 6y ago
  Isn't that just for one chat? Can you download all combined?
- doersino 6y ago
  Not in Germany: https://faq.whatsapp.com/android/chats/how-to-save-your-chat-history https://faq.whatsapp.com/android/chats/how-to-save-your-chat... Don't ask me what's leading WhatsApp's legal department to believe that this feature doesn't comply with German privacy laws. It's quite puzzling. (I would've rather expected a feature like this to be mandated by EU laws.) As of now, there's no non-hacky way of exporting chats for German users. (Hacky ways include: dubious third-party software, copying each message individually, taking screenshots.)
  - DoofusOfDeath 6y ago
    Can you obtain that same information via a GPDR request for all of the information they have about you?
    - doersino 6y ago
      Messages and associated media aren't permanently stored on WhatsApp's servers, so sadly this wouldn't help much with chat export.
  - hexaz 6y ago
    Most probably not privacy related, but the result of Blackberry suing Facebook over some patent stuff in Germany. (German source: https://t3n.de/news/whatsapp-kein-chat-export-mehr-1238327/ https://t3n.de/news/whatsapp-kein-chat-export-mehr-1238327/)
    - doersino 6y ago
      Thanks for the pointer! Of course it's software patent trolling, ugh.
  - fencepost 6y ago
    Time for a road trip?
noja 6y ago
The platform lock-in because of this is immense.
- bzb3 6y ago
  Maybe so, but it doesn't benefit either platform.
  - maxbond 6y ago
    It may not _favor_ either platform but I'd say they both benefit. In ecology, it's rare to species compete to extinction or exclusion from a niche. It's much more common to observe segmentation. It's a lower energy state for birds to mate at different times, eat leaves from different parts of the same tree, etc., dividing the resources of their niche among themselves, than to force each other out of the niche completely. The situation is analogous. I'm sure they'd destroy each other if they could, but it's obviously not happening right now. It's much easier to say, you can have your current users, we'll have ours, and we'll focus our energy on capturing emerging markets. Which is why you see them racing to provide free internet to developing countries and such.
- nroets 6y ago
  I've helped a lot of people to set up new phones and saving WhatsApp chat history is always low on their list of priorities. Keeping their contacts, their photos and all the saved logins for websites and apps are the top 3. Wiping the WhatsApp chat history on the old phone before giving it to a new owner is also much more important. It often contains highly embarrassing or even incriminating details.
  - collyw 6y ago
    wouldn't it be advisable to do a factory reset on an old phone before giving it to someone else? There is a lot more personal info on there than whatsapp
e2021 6y ago
The android/iPhone thing isn’t on purpose, it’s an artifact of the organizational structure at WhatsApp
- cerberusss 6y ago
  What makes you sure it's not on purpose? I don't disagree, I'm just curious about your statement.
  - scarface74 6y ago
    Why would WhatsApp want to make it hard to stay on their platform?
    - 6510 6y ago
      Thats a different question but 1) they know and 2) they can fix it fast therefore 3) it is on purpose
- beagle3 6y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_law at work.
- the_pwner224 6y ago
  WhatsApp isn't made by a single indie developer, and wasn't just released by that single indie developer a month ago. If it can't sync between Apple Phones and Android, then WhatsApp has intentionally chosen not to fix that and instead spend many millions of dollars on other stuff. It is on purpose.
- fencepost 6y ago
  Never used WhatsApp, but is it related to Apple policies? I just ran into something reminiscent of this with Microsoft's Authenticator app - runs on both platforms, supports backup and restore, but apparently on Apple devices it's only able to use iCloud for backup rather than an associated Microsoft account. The net effect is that if you're switching you have to redo 2fa for all accounts where you haven't separately backed up your TOTP codes.
qlm 6y ago
BackupTrans also caused my iPhone to bootloop, requiring a factory reset.
ramraj07 6y ago
Which direction? I and my sis did both directions quite painlessly (includign images etc) a year back.
- cerberusss 6y ago
  From iPhone to Android. The software works. But shortly afterwards, WhatsApp threw up some kind of "timeout" screen twice, where I couldn't use the app for a hour. I don't need that uncertainty.

heavenlyblue 6y ago

You can still download the history as a text file though - I did that.

anonms-coward 6y ago
Isn't that just for one chat? Can you download all combined?
doersino 6y ago
Not in Germany: https://faq.whatsapp.com/android/chats/how-to-save-your-chat-history https://faq.whatsapp.com/android/chats/how-to-save-your-chat... Don't ask me what's leading WhatsApp's legal department to believe that this feature doesn't comply with German privacy laws. It's quite puzzling. (I would've rather expected a feature like this to be mandated by EU laws.) As of now, there's no non-hacky way of exporting chats for German users. (Hacky ways include: dubious third-party software, copying each message individually, taking screenshots.)
- DoofusOfDeath 6y ago
  Can you obtain that same information via a GPDR request for all of the information they have about you?
  - doersino 6y ago
    Messages and associated media aren't permanently stored on WhatsApp's servers, so sadly this wouldn't help much with chat export.
- hexaz 6y ago
  Most probably not privacy related, but the result of Blackberry suing Facebook over some patent stuff in Germany. (German source: https://t3n.de/news/whatsapp-kein-chat-export-mehr-1238327/ https://t3n.de/news/whatsapp-kein-chat-export-mehr-1238327/)
  - doersino 6y ago
    Thanks for the pointer! Of course it's software patent trolling, ugh.
- fencepost 6y ago
  Time for a road trip?

noja 6y ago

The platform lock-in because of this is immense.

bzb3 6y ago
Maybe so, but it doesn't benefit either platform.
- maxbond 6y ago
  It may not _favor_ either platform but I'd say they both benefit. In ecology, it's rare to species compete to extinction or exclusion from a niche. It's much more common to observe segmentation. It's a lower energy state for birds to mate at different times, eat leaves from different parts of the same tree, etc., dividing the resources of their niche among themselves, than to force each other out of the niche completely. The situation is analogous. I'm sure they'd destroy each other if they could, but it's obviously not happening right now. It's much easier to say, you can have your current users, we'll have ours, and we'll focus our energy on capturing emerging markets. Which is why you see them racing to provide free internet to developing countries and such.
nroets 6y ago
I've helped a lot of people to set up new phones and saving WhatsApp chat history is always low on their list of priorities. Keeping their contacts, their photos and all the saved logins for websites and apps are the top 3. Wiping the WhatsApp chat history on the old phone before giving it to a new owner is also much more important. It often contains highly embarrassing or even incriminating details.
- collyw 6y ago
  wouldn't it be advisable to do a factory reset on an old phone before giving it to someone else? There is a lot more personal info on there than whatsapp

e2021 6y ago

The android/iPhone thing isn’t on purpose, it’s an artifact of the organizational structure at WhatsApp

cerberusss 6y ago
What makes you sure it's not on purpose? I don't disagree, I'm just curious about your statement.
- scarface74 6y ago
  Why would WhatsApp want to make it hard to stay on their platform?
  - 6510 6y ago
    Thats a different question but 1) they know and 2) they can fix it fast therefore 3) it is on purpose
beagle3 6y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_law at work.
the_pwner224 6y ago
WhatsApp isn't made by a single indie developer, and wasn't just released by that single indie developer a month ago. If it can't sync between Apple Phones and Android, then WhatsApp has intentionally chosen not to fix that and instead spend many millions of dollars on other stuff. It is on purpose.
fencepost 6y ago
Never used WhatsApp, but is it related to Apple policies? I just ran into something reminiscent of this with Microsoft's Authenticator app - runs on both platforms, supports backup and restore, but apparently on Apple devices it's only able to use iCloud for backup rather than an associated Microsoft account. The net effect is that if you're switching you have to redo 2fa for all accounts where you haven't separately backed up your TOTP codes.

qlm 6y ago

BackupTrans also caused my iPhone to bootloop, requiring a factory reset.

ramraj07 6y ago

Which direction? I and my sis did both directions quite painlessly (includign images etc) a year back.

cerberusss 6y ago
From iPhone to Android. The software works. But shortly afterwards, WhatsApp threw up some kind of "timeout" screen twice, where I couldn't use the app for a hour. I don't need that uncertainty.