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Checking a WhatsApp export with its SHA-256 fingerprint

Every ChatBundle PDF names the export file it was made from and prints that file’s SHA-256 fingerprint. Anyone with the original file can check it in under a minute, with tools already on their computer.

What the fingerprint is

SHA-256 turns any file into a 64-character code. The same file always gives the same code, and changing even one byte gives a completely different one. It’s the same method used to check software downloads and digital evidence.

ChatBundle calculates it in your browser as soon as you open an export, and prints it on the PDF’s cover sheet, in the footer of every page, and in full on the last page with the instructions below.

Check it on Windows

Open the folder with the export, click the address bar, type cmd and press Enter. Then run:

certutil -hashfile "WhatsApp Chat with Jo Patel.zip" SHA256

Check it on a Mac

Open Terminal, type shasum -a 256 (with a space), drag the export file into the window and press Enter:

shasum -a 256 "WhatsApp Chat - Jo Patel.zip"

Check it on Linux

sha256sum "WhatsApp Chat with Jo Patel.zip"

Compare the result with the SHA-256 on the PDF’s last page. Capital and lower-case letters count as the same. If they match, the file is byte for byte the one the PDF was made from.

What it does and doesn’t show

It shows that the PDF came from that file, and that the file hasn’t changed since the PDF was made.
It doesn’t show that the export is complete, or that nobody edited it before the PDF was made. Exports are plain files, so if authenticity is disputed, the phone and the other person’s copy of the chat are the better evidence.

Because every message keeps its number from the export, anyone checking can also open the original file and find message #1,204 in the same place.

Questions

Does a matching fingerprint prove the chat is genuine?

No. It proves the PDF was made from that exact file. Whether the file itself is a complete and honest export of the chat is a separate question, which the phone it came from can help answer.

Why does the fingerprint change if I unzip and re-zip the export?

Re-zipping writes a different file, even if the contents are the same, so its fingerprint differs. Keep the original file WhatsApp made, and use that.

Are attachments fingerprinted too?

Yes. The media index in a ChatBundle PDF lists the SHA-256 of every attachment as it was in the export, so each photo or document can be checked on its own.

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.