Exporting a WhatsApp conversation

Exporting a conversation generates a text file (.txt) with that chat's history, which can be sent by email or saved outside the app. It is different from a backup: a backup restores WhatsApp; an export produces a file anyone can read.

How to export on Android

Open the conversation, tap the three-dot menu and choose More → Export chat. Pick with or without media and choose where to save or share the file.

How to export on iPhone

Open the conversation, tap the contact or group name and choose Export Chat. Pick whether to attach media and choose the destination. Menu names can vary by version.

The exported file does not replace a restorable WhatsApp backup. Check the official export guide if the option does not show up.

What is in the file

Every line carries date, time, sender and message, in plain text. When exporting with media, photos, audio and documents come attached — but there is a quantity limit, and long conversations get cut off.

The limits that trip up anyone trying to use it as a record

1. Volume cutoff. Large conversations do not export in full, especially with media.
2. Deleted messages do not come back. What was deleted does not appear.
3. Unstructured format. It is plain running text: you cannot filter, sum or cross-reference it with the customer.
4. It is manual and per conversation. There is no way to export the entire database at once.

Why businesses export conversations

Usually for three reasons: keeping proof of an agreement, transferring history when an agent changes, or responding to a legal request.

For a one-off copy, exporting can meet the need. To distribute support work and keep records of the operation, look into multi-agent support. Connecting a platform does not automatically import the app's entire old history.

With CRPRO's multi-agent support, each contact's history already sits in the team's dashboard, with no need to export chats from a phone.

⚠️ Exported conversations contain customers' personal data. Sending it by personal email or storing it in an uncontrolled folder is a data exposure under local privacy law.