WhatsApp just made transferring chat history so easy but there may be one big limit
No longer need to rely on iCloud to send data over
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WhatsAppis making it easier to transfer chat logs from your old phone to a new one just by scanning a QR code.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the initial announcement on his Instagram channel where he states this method lets you move your data privately without ever having to leave your devices.”Looking at the video he posted, you first open up the QR code on the older device, then scan said code on the newer phone. Give it about 10 seconds to finish up and you’re done.Other reportsstate the Chat Transfer tool can be found under the Chats section in the Settings menu.
📱📲 Now you can transfer your full chat history seamlessly, quickly and securely across the same operating systems without ever having to leave the app. Out today 👀 pic.twitter.com/UqNpyw8bCCJune 30, 2023
Compared to the old method of having to back up your history on eitherGoogleDrive oriCloud, this is a lot more straightforward. You’re effectively cutting out the middleman plus you don’t have to worry about hitting storage limits if yourWhatsAppaccount has several gigabytes worth of media saved on it.
As great as this new feature may be, it appears there is a catch.TheVerge claimsthe QR code chat log transfer “only works between devices running the sameoperating system, so Android to Android or iOS to iOS.” If you want to move your data from, say, aSamsung Galaxy phone to an iPhoneorvice versa, you’ll have to head over to WhatsApp’s Help Center for instructions on how to do so.
We asked Meta to confirm if this is true. We’ll update this story at a later time.
Availability
Meta is currently rolling outthe Chat Transfer tool in waves to all its users. Be sure to keep an eye out for the patch once it arrives. No word if there are plans to add a similar feature to the desktop version of WhatsApp.
If any of this sounds familiar to you, that’s because WABetaInfo first revealed the update back in early May when it was onlyavailable to beta testers. The publication has since shown off other interesting changes coming to WhatsApp. For instance, a WhatsBeta beta on Android from late Mayintroduces screen-sharing for video calls, which you can activate right after installation and try out with others. There are also plans to introducemulti-account supportto the platform giving people a way to swap between profiles on the same smartphone.
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Cesar Cadenas has been writing about the tech industry for several years now specializing in consumer electronics, entertainment devices, Windows, and the gaming industry. But he’s also passionate about smartphones, GPUs, and cybersecurity.
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