This great new WhatsApp feature is a godsend if you've got a new phone

WhatsApp chat transfer showing on two phones

(Image credit: Meta)

published 4 July 2023

WhatsApp has made it much easier to share your chats and chat history between two phones.

It used to be fairly difficult to transfer chats when you move from one phone to another - it generally required you to back them up to the cloud before downloading them again on the new device - but now you can do so by just scanning a QR code. You just need to be on the same operating system.

That means you can use the new transfer feature when upgrading an iPhone, or if you switch from one Android phone to another.

WhatsApp recently added a different feature if you want to switch from iPhone to Android, or vice versa. That can be found in the app's settings on each device. However, to use the new transfer option, you just need to install WhatsApp on your new phone, open the app on both handsets and head to the settings on your original device.

Tap Transfer Chats to (iPhone or Android, depending on your original device), then scan the QR code that appears on the new phone. It should work quickly and smoothly, as shown in a video shared on Facebook by Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg.

As well as simplify the process, this method of transfer is reportedly more secure than uploading and downloading chats to and from a third-party service.

You can still also backup your chats to Google Drive, so if you lose or break your old phone, it's still possible to recover your chat history. However, this isn't quite as safe as sending data from device to device locally, without using an internet connection to do so.

WhatsApp has been busy adding new features to its app recently, such as the ability to silence nuisance calls. It has also made it easier to share chats from desktop to phone, while allowing additional devices to log into the same account through a new companion mode.

If you've not got the new feature (or any other recent upgrades) on your phone, check that you have auto updates switched on. Alternatively, you should check to see if there is a WhatsApp update available on your respective app store to download manually.

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Rik is T3’s news editor, which means he looks after the news team and the up-to-the-minute coverage of all the hottest gadgets and products you’ll definitely want to read about. And, with more than 35 years of experience in tech and entertainment journalism, including editing and writing for numerous websites, magazines, and newspapers, he’s always got an eye on the next big thing.

Rik also has extensive knowledge of AV, TV streaming and smart home kit, plus just about everything to do with games since the late 80s. Prior to T3, he spent 13 years at Pocket-lint heading up its news team, and was a TV producer and presenter on such shows as Channel 4's GamesMaster, plus Sky's Games World, Game Over, and Virtual World of Sport.