This time we want to talk to you about a somewhat unknown WhatsApp function, but very useful for saving our most important conversations. It's about the option export WhatsApp chat, with which you can make backup copies of individual or group chats. How to export a WhatsApp chat? How useful is this function? And how to view an exported WhatsApp chat? Let's see.
To export a WhatsApp chat you have to enter the app from your mobile device and open the conversation you want to keep. After exporting the chat, The entire conversation is converted to a .txt file, which you can open with most text editors. This file can also be shared via email or messaging applications.
What is the option to export a WhatsApp chat?
WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging applications in the world, with more than 2.000 billion active users each month. We love it because of its ease of use and how convenient it is to stay connected with friends and family. Furthermore, lately has received important updates that incorporate useful new features, such as video messages and channels.
A not so new and little-known function of WhatsApp is to export chats, that is, save them outside the application as a file in text format. This allows you to save important conversations whose content we want to backup to view at a later time. It is also a way to preserve certain WhatsApp chats if we have to uninstall the app or do without the mobile phone for some time.
Steps to export a complete WhatsApp chat
The process to export a complete WhatsApp chat is very simple and can be done from the application itself. You just have to follow the following steps:
- Open WhatsApp on your mobile and select the chat you want to export. It can be an individual chat or a group.
- Tap the three dots icon in the top right corner and choose 'More'.
- Select the 'Export chat' option. A message will appear asking you whether or not you want to include the multimedia files (photos, videos, audios, etc.) that you have sent or received in those chats.
- Now choose the method by which you want to export the chat. You can send it by email, by Bluetooth, by Google Drive, Telegram, by any app you have installed that allows file sharing. You can also save it to your mobile storage.
- Once the chat is sent, you can open it from the device or platform you have chosen. The chat will be saved to .txt format, which you can open in any text editor.
As you can see, exporting a complete WhatsApp chat is not a complicated process. Now, it is important that you take into account some details in this regard.
- First of all, the option of export chats is not available for WhatsApp Web and WhatsApp Desktop, you can only do it from your mobile.
- Secondly, if you decide to export the chat media files, the resulting file will be heavier and maybe you can't send it by some means.
- If you have included the chat media files, a folder will be created with the name of the chat and the files inside.
How to view an exported WhatsApp chat?
Once you've exported a WhatsApp chat, how can you view it? To view an exported WhatsApp chat, you just have to find it on the device or platform you used to share it. For example, if you sent it by email, you can open the attachment from your inbox or your downloads folder.
Likewise, if you have saved it in Google Drive, you can access it from your Google account, both on your computer and on your mobile. In case you have sent it to a chat Telegram, you just have to open the conversation where you shared it to see the .txt file. And the same thing happens if you sent it via Bluetooth or through another application installed on your mobile.
To open an exported WhatsApp chat, you need to have a text reader installed on your device.. From Windows Notepad to the WPS text editor, any program or app that supports .txt files will do. The only drawback is that this type of file comes with a poorly readable format that complicates the task of reviewing it later. Solution? Export WhatsApp chat to Telegram.
Sending from WhatsApp to Telegram is the best alternative
If you have opened an exported WhatsApp chat, you will notice that the file is unformatted and the conversation is difficult to read. Additionally, images and other media files are saved in a separate folder, which complicates things even more. To avoid this inconvenience and be able to read the exported chat easily, the best alternative is to import it from Telegram.
- To do so, you just have to follow the first three steps described above to export WhatsApp chat.
- When you get to step number four, select Telegram from the available options.
- Next, choose who you will share the exported WhatsApp chat with on Telegram. Usually, it's the same person.
Depending on the amount of text and multimedia files, the process may take a while, but we assure you that it will be worth it. When it is ready, you will see the conversation imported from WhatsApp in Telegram chat. Each message will be ordered chronologically, will be easy to read, and will be identified with the word Imported.
Notably Telegram also allows you to export your chats, and the resulting file is much more readable than the one generated from WhatsApp. That being the case, you just have to export the chat from WhatsApp to Telegram and, immediately afterwards, export that chat from Telegram. A little tangled? Yes, but it is also the best alternative to obtain a fully readable .txt file of your WhatsApp chats.
Export WhatsApp chats and save your most important conversations
In conclusion, we have seen what the export WhatsApp chat function consists of and how you can use it to save your most important conversations. We also went over the procedure for doing this and saw how to search and open imported chats.
Finally, we talked about a great suggestion for export WhatsApp chats: send them to Telegram and, once there, export it again. With this you will obtain a .txt file that is much more organized and readable than the one generated by WhatsApp.