WhatsApp is soon introducing a feature that will make it easier for smartphone users to switch between Apple and Android devices without losing their entire chat history. This news comes hot on the heels of a big rethink that will allow texting without a phone at all.
Currently, due to the way that end-to-end encryption is implemented on WhatsApp, it’s difficult to transfer your chats over to a new type of device. Not just difficult, in fact – such a transfer is actually impossible without laboriously setting up third-party services to help.
It might sound like a small deal, but this has long been an issue for people switching between platforms. If you’re a die-hard WhatsApp chatter, losing your chats could be too much friction to seriously consider switching from Android to iPhone or vice versa.
But the company has announced a solution.
Stage one of the rollout is here already, with WhatsApp having partnered with Samsung to bolster the latter’s Smart Switch service. That means if you’re ditching your iPhone for a Samsung Galaxy phone, you can now copy all your files across – including your full WhatsApp chat history, including photos and attachments – from one device to the other.
All well and good for people making that particular switch, but if you’re reading this article it’s likely you’re pretty happy with your iPhone. The more important feature for Apple users may be ability to move chat history from an Android device over to a new iPhone. That’s coming soon, apparently, but WhatsApp hasn’t given a specific date.
It’s possible the feature will be released to tie in with the new iPhones this September. Not only would that give Apple another capability to show off at its keynote, but it would be perfect timing for and Android users looking to make the switch to a shiny new iPhone 13.
If you know any such people who state WhatsApp as one of the reasons to avoid switching, be sure to let them know that picking up a new platform is about to become even more frictionless.
Related reading: why WhatsApp is our favorite messaging app