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How to export a WhatsApp chat on iPhone and Android

WhatsApp can save a whole conversation as a file: a .txt of every message, or a .zip with the attachments too. Here’s how to do it on each phone, and what to watch out for if you need it as evidence.

On an iPhone

Open WhatsApp and go to the chat (one person or a group).
Tap the person’s or group’s name at the top of the chat.
Scroll to the bottom and tap Export Chat.
Choose Attach Media to include photos, videos, voice notes and documents, or Without Media for the text only.
In the share sheet, tap Save to Files and pick a folder. You get a .zip file named “WhatsApp Chat – name”.

Leave the .zip as it is: ChatBundle reads it directly, and its fingerprint only matches the file WhatsApp made.

On an Android phone

Open WhatsApp and go to the chat.
Tap the three dots in the top right, then More, then Export chat.
Choose Include media or Without media.
Pick where to send it. Saving to the phone (for example with the Files app) or to Google Drive both work. You get a .zip, or a .txt for text only, named “WhatsApp Chat with name”.

Getting the file onto a computer

You don’t have to: ChatBundle works in the browser on your phone too. Open chatbundle.onibaku.co.uk, tap Choose export file and pick the file you saved.

If you’d rather use a computer, AirDrop or a USB cable keep the file off anyone else’s servers. Emailing it to yourself or using cloud storage works, but means a copy of the chat sits with your email or cloud provider. Think about that if the chat is sensitive.

What an export includes, and what it doesn’t

Every message’s date, time, sender and text, as recorded on the phone that exported it, in that phone’s time zone and date format.
A limit on size. According to WhatsApp’s help centre, an export holds the most recent 40,000 messages without media, or 10,000 with media. For a longer chat, the oldest messages are left out.
Attachments, if you chose media, as separate files in the zip. Very large chats may not include every file. Messages refer to files by name, and ChatBundle marks any that are missing.
Deleted messages show as “This message was deleted”, and edited ones carry “<This message was edited>”. The earlier version isn’t in the export.
Notices such as missed calls, number changes and people joining a group.
Not included: emoji reactions, view-once photos and videos, and disappearing messages that have already disappeared.

Keep the original file. If anyone questions the PDF, the export is the source. ChatBundle prints the export’s SHA-256 fingerprint in the PDF, so anyone with the original file can check it’s the same one.

If Export chat isn’t there

WhatsApp’s Advanced chat privacy setting, when someone in the chat turns it on, stops everyone in that chat exporting it or auto-saving its media. It shows as a notice in the chat. You’d need to ask for it to be turned off; there’s no way around it from your side. Work phones can also hide exporting through device management.

Next: turn it into a PDF

Drop the file onto ChatBundle. It reads the export in your browser, numbers every message, and makes an A4 PDF with a cover sheet, page numbers, a media index and the fingerprint. You can preview the whole chat for free before buying a pass.

Questions

Does exporting tell the other person?

No. WhatsApp doesn’t notify anyone when a chat is exported.

Why is the Export chat option missing?

The chat may have Advanced chat privacy switched on, which blocks exporting for everyone in it. Your organisation’s device policy can also hide it on a work phone.

Can I export a chat I’ve deleted?

Not from WhatsApp itself. If you restore a backup that still has the chat, you can export it after restoring.

Is a .txt export enough?

For the text, yes: it has every message with its date, time and sender. Choose “with media” too if the photos, voice notes or documents matter, so each one can be listed and fingerprinted.

Make the PDF now. Drop your export on ChatBundle, check the free preview of every message, then download a numbered PDF with a cover sheet, media index and fingerprint. Nothing is uploaded.

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Last updated 25 October 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice.