Transfer WhatsApp data from Android to Apple iPhone: Here’s how it will work

There’s good news for Android users who were looking to switch to an iPhone but were worried about how they would get to keep their WhatsApp data. Starting today, WhatsApp and Apple have announced support for porting data from Android to iOS. From Apple’s side, its ‘Move to iOS’ app will now include an option to include WhatsApp data when a user is making the switch. WhatsApp will be making the option available in its beta app. The beta will be rolling out slowly and it will take about a week to get to all users.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also put out a statement on the announcement. “We’re adding to WhatsApp the ability to securely switch between phones and transfer your chat hory, photos, videos, and voice messages between Android and iPhone while maintaining end-to-end encryption. This is a top requested feature. We launched the ability switch from iPhone–>Android last year, and now adding Android–>iPhone as well,” he said.
For Indian users, this feature will definitely be much appreciated given how popular WhatsApp is in the country with over 450 million users. But the biggest concern for Android users when switching to iOS was often around preserving WhatsApp data. That’s because, on Android, WhatsApp data is backed up to Google Drive, while on iOS it is backed up to the iCloud, and there’s no compatibility between the two.

The ability to transport the data will be included in the ‘Move to iOS’ app. The option will be available when a user is setting up a new iPhone using the app. Android users will need to be on a minimum of Android 5.0 and above for this option to show. Apple iOS users will need to be on iOS15.5 and above.Best of Express PremiumPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
When a user ticks on WhatsApp data as an option in the app, the data will be packaged in a format compatible with iOS. Apple will not see any of this data and it remains encrypted. After the data is moved, when a user launches WhatsApp on their iPhone for the first time, it detects the data there and decrypts it, and all of the previous chats are restored. The data will include chat hory, photos, videos, etc from WhatsApp.
WhatsApp data transfer Android to iOS: Here’s how it will work:
Install Move to iOS app on your Android phone. Make sure you are on WhatsApp iOS version 2.22.10.70 or above on your new device. On Android, the WhatsApp version needs to be 2.22.7.74 or above.
Use the same phone number as your old phone on your new device
Your iPhone must be factory new or reset to factory settings to pair with the Move to iOS app and move data from your Android phone
Both of your devices must be connected to a power source
Both of your devices need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network or you’ll need to connect your Android device to your iPhone’s hotspot
Migrate from Android to iPhone
Open the Move to iOS app on your Android phone and follow the on-screen prompts.
A code will be displayed on your iPhone. When prompted, enter the code on your Android phone.
Tap Continue and follow the on-screen prompts.
Select WhatsApp on the Transfer Data screen.
Tap START on your Android phone, and wait for WhatsApp to prepare the data for export. You’ll be signed out from your Android phone once the data is prepared.
Tap NEXT to return to the Move to iOS app.
Tap CONTINUE to transfer the data from your Android phone to your iPhone and wait for Move to iOS to confirm the transfer is complete.
Install the latest version of WhatsApp from the App Store.
Open WhatsApp and log in using the same phone number used on your old device.
Tap Start when prompted, and allow the process to complete.
Finish activating your new device and you’ll see your chats waiting for you.
According to WhatsApp, the transferred data doesn’t go to cloud storage as a result of the migration until the user creates an iCloud backup. It also notes that the Android phone will still have your data unless you delete WhatsApp or wipe your phone.
Users will be able to transfer personal messages, but “peer to peer payment messages” and “WhatsApp call hory” will not get transferred, when you make the switch.Apple’s Move to iOS app also supports the option for a user to have all the free apps on their Android device ported to iOS. If a free app on Android has an equivalent on the App Store, users have the option to get these back when they set up the new iPhone. The apps will be shown on the home screen after setup, though a user will have to tap on them to ensure they get downloaded.
Keep in mind that the WhatsApp portability feature is only available if you are setting up a new iPhone using the ‘Move to iOS app’. This means that if you have an iPhone already set up, you can’t go back to your old WhatsApp data on an older Android and just port that data. The only way to do this would be to wipe your iPhone clean and set it up as new. This is a peer-to-per migration with no internet involved.