WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, with over 2 billion users. It allows you to easily communicate with friends, family and colleagues through text, voice messages, video calls and more.
While WhatsApp is primarily designed for mobile devices, you can also use it on your computer by linking your phone to WhatsApp Web or Desktop. This gives you the flexibility to continue conversations on a bigger screen.
One common question many users have is how to save their entire WhatsApp chat history on their PC. There are a couple of different ways to export your chats to your computer for backup and records. Let’s look at the main options.
Use WhatsApp’s Export Chat Feature
The easiest way to save your chats is to use WhatsApp’s built-in export feature. Here’s how it works:
- Open the WhatsApp app on your phone.
- Tap on the More Options icon (3 dots in top right)
- Select Settings > Chats > Chat History.
- Tap on Export Chat.
- Select the individual or group chat you want to export.
- Tap on Export.
- WhatsApp will export the chat as a .txt file and save it to your phone’s internal storage downloads folder.
Once the file is exported, you can access it through your phone’s file manager or connect your phone to a computer to transfer the .txt file over.
The text file contains the entire conversation, including dates and names of the participants. You can open it on any text editor or word processor on your computer.
One limitation is that WhatsApp only allows you to export one chat at a time. So if you want to save your entire chat history, you’ll have to repeat the process for each individual or group conversation.
Use Third-Party Apps
Exporting chats one by one from WhatsApp itself can be tedious if you have many different conversations. Fortunately, there are some third party apps that can make the process easier:
WAMR
WAMR (WhatsApp Messages Recovery) is a free app available for both iPhone and Android that allows batch export of WhatsApp chats.
To use it:
- Download and install the WAMR app on your phone.
- Open WAMR and give it access to your WhatsApp data when prompted.
- Select the chats you want to export.
- Tap on Export and select TXT or ZIP format.
- The app will export all your chosen chats in one go as a ZIP file that you can transfer to your computer.
WAMR makes it easy to export your full WhatsApp data with just a few taps. The only limitation is that the free version has a file size limit of 10MB for exports.
ShareChat
ShareChat is another free app for Android and iOS that can bulk export WhatsApp chats.
To use:
- Get ShareChat from your device’s app store.
- Open the app and select WhatsApp.
- Select the chats to export and tap Next.
- Choose TXT or HTML format and select Export.
- Your WhatsApp data will be exported to your phone storage as a ZIP file.
ShareChat is very easy to use. The main advantage over WAMR is that there are no file size limits for exports. However, the app has ads and some features require paid upgrades.
CopyTrans Contacts
CopyTrans Contacts is a desktop app available for both Mac and Windows. It can back up and export your WhatsApp chats to your computer.
To use:
- Download and install CopyTrans Contacts on your computer.
- Connect your iPhone or Android phone to the computer.
- Open CopyTrans Contacts and click WhatsApp Exporter.
- The app will detect your phone and display your WhatsApp data.
- Select the chats you want to export and click Export.
- Choose where to save the .txt or .html files on your computer.
CopyTrans provides a simple desktop interface for exporting WhatsApp chats from your phone to your computer. It costs $29.99 for a 1-year license but often goes on sale.
Back Up Chats to Google Drive
WhatsApp also gives you the option to continuously back up your chat history to Google Drive. This can serve as another way to preserve your chats.
To enable it:
- Open WhatsApp and tap More options > Settings > Chats > Chat backup.
- Tap Back up to Google Drive and select a backup frequency (daily, weekly etc).
- Tap Account and select the Google account you want to backup to.
Once enabled, WhatsApp will regularly backup your chat history to your Google Drive storage. You can then access these files by signing into Google Drive on your computer.
The backup files are stored in Google Drive > WhatsApp > Databases. They can be large in size and are saved in a cryptic format, but contain your entire chat history.
A key benefit of this method is that your chats are continuously saved to the cloud automatically. The drawback is that it’s not as easily accessible as a TXT/HTML export file.
Use WhatsApp Web
You can also access and view your full WhatsApp chat history right within WhatsApp Web itself:
- Open web.whatsapp.com in your computer’s browser.
- On your phone, open WhatsApp and tap More Options > Linked Devices > Link a Device.
- Point your phone’s camera at the QR code on the WhatsApp Web screen to link it.
Once linked, WhatsApp Web will display your full chat history from your phone. You can scroll back and view previous conversations.
The benefit here is you don’t need to export anything – your chats are visible on your computer screen. The limitation is that to access the chats, your phone needs to stay connected to the internet.
Use a Desktop Chat App
In addition to WhatsApp Web, you can also use the native desktop apps for Windows and Mac to view your chat history:
- WhatsApp Desktop – Downloadable app for Windows and MacOS.
- WhatsApp for Windows – Available on the Microsoft Store for Windows 8/10.
These provide a dedicated desktop experience similar to WhatsApp Web but don’t require your phone to stay connected after linking. Your chat history will sync automatically between your phone and computer.
An advantage of the desktop apps is they typically have better performance and notifications compared to WhatsApp Web. A limitation is you may still need your phone for some features like voice/video calling.
Use a Cloud Service
Some cloud storage services have integrations with WhatsApp to facilitate chat backups:
- iCloud – iOS users can setup automatic WhatsApp backups to iCloud.
- OneDrive – Backup chats to Microsoft OneDrive storage.
- Dropbox – Link a Dropbox account in WhatsApp settings to backup there.
These services provide the benefit of automatic, wireless backups to the cloud that you can access across devices. Make sure you have enough storage space to accommodate the backup files.
Use Local Data Transfer
Finally, you can directly transfer WhatsApp chat history files from phone to computer using a USB cable:
- On an Android phone, go to WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Chat backup to find your local backups.
- On iPhone, open WhatsApp and go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Export Chat.
- Connect your phone to your computer via USB and transfer the backup files to your computer.
This method gives you full access to the chat database files for backup. But it requires manually transferring files each time, which can be cumbersome compared to automated cloud backups.
Conclusion
Here are some key tips to summarize how to save your full WhatsApp chat history on computer:
- Use WhatsApp’s built-in export chat feature to save individual chats as .txt files.
- Try third party apps like WAMR or ShareChat to batch export multiple WhatsApp chats at once.
- Set up continuous backups to a cloud service like Google Drive for automated, wireless backups.
- Use WhatsApp Web or Desktop apps to view and access chats on a computer.
- Manually transfer backup files from phone to computer as a failsafe option.
Following these methods, you can securely preserve your full WhatsApp conversational history for safekeeping and records. Backing up regularly is recommended to avoid losing important chat data.
| Method | Platform | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Export Chat | Mobile app | – Native WhatsApp feature – Saves as .txt file |
– Manual one chat at a time |
| Third-party apps | Mobile app | – Batch export multiple chats – Easy to use |
– File size limits in free versions |
| Google Drive Backup | Cloud | – Automated backups – Wireless |
– Cryptic file format – Large files |
| WhatsApp Web/Desktop | Web/Desktop | – View chats on computer – Synced across devices |
– Phone must stay connected (Web only) |
| Other cloud services | Cloud | – Auto backup to cloud – Accessible across devices |
– Need sufficient storage |
| Local file transfer | Wired | – Direct access to backups | – Manual transfers |
Related Questions
How do I transfer WhatsApp chats from iPhone to Android?
You can transfer WhatsApp chats between iOS and Android a few ways:
– Back up chats to iCloud on your iPhone, then restore them to your Android phone from the iCloud backup during setup.
– Use the Move to iOS app on your Android phone to wirelessly transfer chats and data from iPhone.
– Export chats from iPhone as .txt files, then manually copy them over to your Android device.
– Use third-party apps like Dr.Fone or iMyFone to transfer WhatsApp data between operating systems.
Can I export WhatsApp chats as PDFs?
WhatsApp’s native export feature only allows saving chats as .txt files. To export as PDFs:
– On Android, use a third party app like WAMR or ShareChat which support PDF exports.
– On iPhone, you can print chats to PDF using the system print dialog or screen recording.
– On computer, open exported .txt files in a Word processor and print/save as PDF.
How do I transfer WhatsApp from one phone to another?
To move your WhatsApp data when changing phones:
– Create a new backup on your old phone before switching.
– On your new phone, install WhatsApp and verify your number.
– On the Chats screen, tap Restore to restore chats and data from the backup.
You can also use wired file transfer or cloud backups to move chats from old phone to new phone.
Can I export WhatsApp chats from someone else’s phone?
Due to encryption and privacy reasons, you can only directly export WhatsApp chats from your own account and device. However, some options to retrieve chats from someone else’s phone include:
– If allowed, create a new backup on their phone, restore on your device.
– Connect their phone to a computer and access local backup files to export.
– Screen record or take photos of the chat on their phone.
– Use phone data recovery software to find remnants of deleted chats.
But these may require consent and access to the other person’s phone. There is no way to remotely or independently export chats from someone else’s device.
Summary
– Use WhatsApp’s export chat feature to save individual chats.
– Third party apps like WAMR and ShareChat allow batch exporting chats.
– Set up Google Drive backups for automated, wireless backups.
– View chat history in WhatsApp Web/Desktop.
– Use iCloud, OneDrive etc for backup to other cloud services.
– Manually transfer local backup files via USB as a failsafe.
Backing up your WhatsApp chats regularly is recommended to avoid losing important conversations and memories. The platform provides various handy options to save your chat history to computer for records and safekeeping.