Yes, it is possible to import chats to Telegram. Telegram offers a few different ways to transfer your chat history from other messaging platforms into the Telegram app. The main methods are using the Telegram Passport feature or transferring chats by exporting them to Telegram Desktop.
Importing Chats with Telegram Passport
One of the easiest ways to import your chat history into Telegram is by using Telegram Passport. This feature allows you to transfer your data from another messaging app into Telegram by authenticating through that service.
Here are the steps to use Telegram Passport to import chats:
1. Open the Telegram app on your device.
2. Go to Settings > Privacy and Security.
3. Tap on Passport.
4. Choose the app you want to import your chats from (WhatsApp, Line, KakaoTalk, etc).
5. Follow the prompts to log into that app and authenticate that you own the account.
6. After authenticating, Telegram will import your chat history from that platform into the Telegram app.
The chats will be imported into a new chat inside Telegram, keeping the timestamps and media intact. One limitation is that Telegram Passport can only transfer chats from one other app at a time. But it provides an easy way to quickly move your chat history over to Telegram.
Exporting Chats to Telegram Desktop
In addition to Telegram Passport, you can also transfer chats by exporting your chat history from another app to Telegram Desktop. Here are the general steps:
1. On the other messaging app, export your chats and media. This usually involves going into settings and selecting an export or backup option.
2. Save the exported file to your computer. Popular formats are JSON, XML, HTML, or plain text files.
3. Open the Telegram Desktop application on your computer.
4. Go to Settings > Import Chat History.
5. Select the exported chat file and upload it.
6. Telegram will now import that chat history into a new chat.
The benefit of using Telegram Desktop is it allows you to transfer chats from multiple sources by repeating the export and import process. The drawback is it involves more manual work compared to Telegram Passport.
Import Options by Platform
Here are some specific instructions for exporting chats from other popular messaging platforms and importing them into Telegram:
– On WhatsApp, go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup to export chat history.
– Save the backup file to your computer.
– Follow steps 3-6 above to import the WhatsApp backup file into Telegram Desktop.
Line
– In the Line app, go to More > Settings > Chat history to export chats.
– Choose JSON or XML format and save the file.
– Import the Line chat file on Telegram Desktop.
KakaoTalk
– On KakaoTalk, go to More > Settings > Chat > Backup chats.
– Choose to export chats with or without media.
– Import the KakaoTalk chat files into Telegram Desktop.
– In WeChat, go to Me > Settings > General > Backup and export chats.
– Save the chat history files from WeChat.
– Use Telegram Desktop to import the WeChat chat backups.
Viber
– In Viber, you can email chat history exports to yourself.
– Go to Settings > Contact Info > Export Chat History
– Open the emailed .csv files on your computer.
– Convert or reformat the .csv into a supported file type.
– Import into Telegram Desktop.
Importing from iCloud and Google Drive Backups
For iOS devices, you can also transfer chats by importing your iCloud backup:
1. On an iPhone, back up chats to iCloud.
2. Restore the iCloud backup on a new device.
3. Install Telegram and log into your account.
4. Telegram will sync and import the chats from the iCloud backup.
Similarly for Android devices, you can import chats from a Google Drive backup:
1. On your Android, make sure chats are backed up to Google Drive.
2. Set up a new Android device and restore from Google Drive.
3. Install Telegram and sign in to your account.
4. Your chat history will be imported from the Google Drive backup.
Third-Party Apps for Transferring Chats
There are also a few third-party Android and iOS apps you can use to transfer chat history between different messaging platforms:
– **CopyTrans Contacts** – Allows migrating chats between WhatsApp, Viber, Kik, Line and other apps.
– **Backuptrans** – Specializes in transferring chats from WhatsApp and WeChat to Telegram.
– **MobileTrans** – Transfers chats between WhatsApp, Line, Kik, Viber, Telegram, and more.
The main advantage of third-party apps is convenience – some provide direct migration options between multiple chat apps. The downside is potential security and privacy risks of giving access to a third-party service.
What Gets Imported into Telegram?
When you import chats into Telegram using any of these methods, here’s what generally gets transferred over:
– The actual message texts, timestamps, and information.
– Media like photos, videos and files exchanged in chats.
– Chat names and profile pictures.
Information that typically doesn’t get imported includes message statuses (like read receipts) or whether messages were edited or deleted.
Here is a comparison table of what generally does and does not get imported into Telegram:
| Imported into Telegram | Not Imported into Telegram |
|---|---|
| Message text and timestamps | Read receipts |
| Media – photos, videos, files | Message edit history |
| Chat names | Message delete history |
| Profile pictures | Call and voice message history |
So while the core chat contents will be imported, some metadata may not transfer over. The extent of what does get imported can also vary based on the platform and export method used.
Importing Chats from Bots and Groups
When transferring chats over to Telegram, here are some things to note about bots and groups:
– **Imported bots** – Bots you had conversations with in other apps will transfer over as normal chats. But their bot programming and commands won’t carry over.
– **Private groups** – Private group conversations can be imported to Telegram as a new group chat with the same members.
– **Public groups** – The public group chat history itself doesn’t transfer, but any private messages with group members can be imported.
So while bots and group chats can be imported to Telegram, they may lose some of their original functionality or public accessibility. Private conversations within groups and with bot accounts will transfer over.
Limitations of Importing Chats
There are a few limitations to keep in mind when transferring chats to Telegram:
– **No merge option** – Imported chats start as new conversations rather than merging with existing ones.
– **No transfers between accounts** – Chats can only be imported directly into the Telegram account you exported them from.
– **No iOS to Android transfer** – Moving chats directly from iOS to Android or vice versa is not possible. Need to transfer via desktop.
– **Unreliable transfers** – Large exports don’t always reliably transfer without data loss. Need to verify conversations were properly imported.
So the import process has some limitations. The best results come from exporting and importing smaller conversation histories gradually rather than full multi-year archives. Expect to have separate imported chats and your existing Telegram conversations.
Conclusion
To summarize, there are a few ways to import your chat history into Telegram including:
– Using Telegram Passport to transfer chats directly from another messaging app.
– Exporting chats to Telegram Desktop from a variety of messaging platforms.
– Restoring device backups from iCloud or Google Drive.
– Using third-party chat transfer apps.
These methods allow transferring your message texts, media, and conversation details into Telegram as new chats. While there are some limitations, importing chats can be a convenient way to switch messaging platforms while keeping your chat history intact.