Users can now transfer WhatsApp chats from iOS to Pixel, Android 12 phones

Google has announced that WhatsApp's chat history migration feature to transfer messages from iPhones to Android is now coming to Pixel and all other Android 12 smartphones.

This feature is already available on Samsung Galaxy devices but unlike with Samsung phones, where the feature is available on devices running Android 10 and above, here it is limited to phones with Android 12.

"You can safely transfer your chat history and memories from your WhatsApp account on iPhone to Android. We worked closely with the WhatsApp team to build a new set of capabilities, all designed to make it easier to switch from iPhone to Android and take your WhatsApp history with you," the company said in a statement.

In order to successfully bring WhatsApp chat history from an iPhone to a compatible Android device, one will need a USB-C to Lightning cable. Google says that while setting up Android phone, one will be prompted to scan a QR code with your iPhone, which will let the user start the transfer process.

"Your WhatsApp chat history will simply be copied from your iPhone to your new Android phone, and we'll automatically make sure you don't receive new messages on the old device while the transfer is in progress," the company added.

Recently, WhatsApp also started rolling out end-to-end encrypted chat backups for iOS and Android users globally.

With the new update, if a user chooses to back up his chat history with end-to-end encryption, it will be accessible only to him, and no one will be able to unlock the backup. Neither WhatsApp nor the backup service provider will be able to access their end-to-end encryption backup.

The feature will be rolling out "slowly" for people on the latest version of the app.

--IANS

wh/dpb