Know what your archive can keep.
What WhatsApp and Slack each let us import, row by row.
Each hub has the short version: what the WhatsApp archive keeps and what the Slack archive keeps.
Last reviewed August 10, 2026
What the labels mean
Ends up in the archive, in the scope described.
Ends up in the archive; the limits described decide how much.
Left out of the archive on purpose.
Current source coverage
History window
How far back a new archive can import.
Recent history from the groups you choose
Community Archives imports recent messages from each group you choose, as far back as the linked phone hands them over.
- A per-group page cap keeps imports bounded.
- WhatsApp can leave messages out, or send some the archive cannot read, so a finished group can still be partial. The counts and the skipped items stay visible.
- One-to-one chats, status feeds, and broadcast lists are outside the archive scope.
Slack only lets us read the channels you choose
Community Archives imports the history Slack provides for each channel you choose, as long as the app can reach it.
- Slack plan and retention limits can hide older messages.
- Private channels require the app to be invited.
- Direct messages are not imported.
Edits
Whether changes to message text update the archive.
Edits update the archived message
When a message is edited in WhatsApp after you connect, the archived copy is updated to match, as long as the archive already holds that message.
- The archive does not retain a revision history.
- An edit cannot be applied when its original message is unavailable.
Edits update the archived message
When a message is edited in Slack, the archived copy is updated to match. An older version that arrives late never overwrites newer text.
- The archive does not retain a revision history.
- Coverage begins with provider history and events available after the source is linked.
Deletions
How source-side message removal appears in the archive.
Messages deleted after you connect are marked deleted
When someone deletes a message in WhatsApp after you connect, the archive marks its copy as deleted.
- A revoke for a message the archive has never seen cannot restore or describe that message.
- Historical provider results may omit content deleted before import.
Deleted messages are marked deleted
When a message is deleted in Slack, the archive records that it was deleted, even if the message itself never reached us. A late copy cannot bring it back.
- A message deleted before the archive ever saw it is recorded as deleted, with no text or author to show.
- Provider events and history unavailable before linking do not form a historical deletion ledger.
Threads and replies
Whether a reply remains connected to its original message.
Quoted replies stay linked
When WhatsApp says which message a reply is quoting, and the archive holds that message, the two are shown linked together.
- WhatsApp replies are quoted-message relationships, not Slack-style thread containers.
- An unavailable original can leave only the provider-supplied quote context.
Replies stay threaded
Replies stay attached to the message that started the thread, including when a reply reaches the archive before that message does.
- Slack retention, access, or page failures can still omit replies.
- A thread the archive could not finish reading is shown as incomplete rather than as the whole conversation.
Reactions
Which reaction events are represented.
Reactions added after you connect stay with their message
Reactions added in WhatsApp after you connect are attached to messages the archive already holds.
- Historical reactions are not imported.
- Coverage begins with recognized live reaction events received after linking.
- Unknown reactors or message targets cannot be attached.
Reactions stay with their message
Reactions Slack lists on a message are imported with it, on channel messages and thread replies alike, and later reactions keep updating messages the archive already holds.
- File and file-comment reactions are not imported.
- Unknown members and targets cannot be attached.
- When Slack reports how many people reacted without naming all of them, only the people it names are shown.
Attachments
Which media and files remain available with messages.
Photos, video, and files stay with their messages, up to 5 GB
Images, video, documents, audio, voice notes, and stickers are stored with their message when WhatsApp provides the media.
- Provider availability, download timeouts, supported media shape, and the archive storage limit all apply.
- Permanent media omissions are explicitly marked on the message while text continues importing.
Files uploaded to Slack stay with their messages, up to 5 GB
Files uploaded to Slack are downloaded and stored alongside the message they were posted with.
- Files that only live on another service, and files Slack will not hand over, are not downloaded. The message says so in their place.
- A file has a 500 MiB safety limit and each archive has a 5 GB media limit.
- Provider availability and transient download or storage failures can delay preservation retries.
Membership
How source identity qualifies someone to read an archive.
Current group members can read the archive, verified by phone number
Members verify the phone number they use in WhatsApp; access follows the current member list of the groups you archive.
Current channel members can read the archive, signed in with Slack
Members sign in with Slack; access follows your workspace's current member list.
- Private-channel access depends on successful membership reads and the app remaining invited.
- A failed initial private-channel membership read can leave access unavailable until the source is refreshed.
Private groups
Which non-public source conversations can be selected.
WhatsApp groups the linked phone is in
An admin picks which of the linked phone’s WhatsApp groups to archive. One-to-one chats are left out.
Public channels, plus private ones you invite the app to
An admin picks which channels to archive: public channels, plus any private channel the Community Archives app has been invited to.
- Hidden private channels cannot be discovered until the app is invited.
- Reconnect can require the app to be re-invited before private-channel catch-up.
- Direct messages are not imported.
Reconnect
What happens after a source authorization or linked session stops working.
Scan a new QR code and the same archive keeps collecting
An admin can check, restart, or relink the WhatsApp connection from Settings. Everything already archived stays readable while that happens.
Reconnect Slack and the same archive catches up
Reconnecting from Settings reuses the same Slack workspace instead of starting a second archive, then catches up on the channels it can still reach.
Known unsupported payloads
What the product does with provider objects it does not represent.
One-to-one chats, status updates, and message types we can’t read are skipped
One-to-one chats, status updates, broadcast lists, and message types Community Archives cannot read are left out of the archive.
- Historical import exposes skipped or partial counts.
- Unknown stored payload shapes in selected archive channels degrade system health for operator follow-up.
- A message Community Archives cannot read is recorded as unreadable and reported to the archive admins, without keeping its content.
- A message the WhatsApp connector drops before import (an unresolvable history sender or an undecryptable group message) is counted from the connector log and degrades system health.
Direct messages and event types we can’t read are skipped
Direct messages are left out, and so are reactions on anything other than a message. Where part of a message or a linked external file cannot be archived, the message says so in place.
- A Slack event Community Archives does not recognize is retried, then reported to the archive admins if it keeps failing.
- A Slack message Community Archives cannot read is recorded as unreadable and reported to the archive admins, without keeping its content.
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