How do I export a WhatsApp chat?
Open the group, tap Export chat, and choose whether to include media. WhatsApp gives you a file to send or save, which you can read anywhere but can’t restore into WhatsApp.
How do I export WhatsApp messages on Android?
- Open the group. Open the chat.
- Choose Export chat. Tap More options > More > Export chat.
- Choose whether to include media. Tap Without media or Include media.
If you include media, WhatsApp adds the most recent media as attachments to send from your sharesheet.
Source: WhatsApp Help Center: Android export.
How do I export WhatsApp messages on iPhone?
- Choose Export chat. Tap your contact’s name or group name > Export chat.
- Choose whether to attach media. If the chat contains media, choose Attach Media or Without Media.
WhatsApp exports the history as a ZIP file. View once messages are not exported.
Source: WhatsApp Help Center: iPhone export.
Can I restore an export or make one on WhatsApp Web?
An exported history cannot be re-imported into WhatsApp. It is a text file, not a backup file.
Source: WhatsApp Help Center: exported history.
Export is not available on WhatsApp Web.
Source: WhatsApp Help Center: Web export.
How is a WhatsApp backup different from an export?
To restore a Google Account backup on Android, uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp, then tap Restore when prompted. You can store only one backup per Google Account. Each new backup replaces the old one.
Source: WhatsApp Help Center: Android restore.
Google may delete WhatsApp backups that have not been updated in five months. There is no way to restore an older Google Account backup.
Which way of saving WhatsApp history fits my community?
| Option | What it keeps | Who can read it | Stays up to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Export chat in WhatsApp | A text file, plus media if you include it | Whoever you send the file to | No. You export again by hand |
| Google Drive or iCloud backup | A copy WhatsApp can restore to your own phone | Only you, inside WhatsApp | Yes, for your phone |
| WhatsApp’s Archive button | Nothing. It hides the chat from your list | Only you | Not a copy |
| Group message history | The latest 25–100 messages, shared with someone when they are added | The new member | No |
| Community Archives | The groups you pick, with search, files and voice notes, on a web address | Verified members, people you invite, or anyone | Yes, while the phone stays linked |
Sources, checked October 2026: WhatsApp export, WhatsApp backups and Group Message History. The Archive button row describes WhatsApp’s in-app control, as explained on our WhatsApp group archive page.
When is a searchable archive the better fit?
Exporting is free, and enough for a personal keepsake. Keep a file when you want a copy for yourself. An archive is for a community whose members need to find and link to old answers as new messages arrive.
An export gives you one text file per chat. Community Archives connects as a linked device instead, keeps new messages from the groups you pick while your admin phone stays linked, and lets members search every archived group at once, with voice notes that play in the page.
Can Community Archives read an exported WhatsApp file?
No. Community Archives connects as a linked device instead. You scan a QR code with your group-admin phone and choose the groups to archive.
Does the archive go back as far as an export?
Not necessarily. The archive receives the recent history WhatsApp hands a linked device, in practice a few months to about a year. It may not reach the group’s first message. New messages keep arriving while the phone stays linked.