WhatsApp Has Introduced A QR Code Chat Transfer Feature

It may soon be a little simpler to move huge attachments and your WhatsApp chats between devices with the same operating system. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, has revealed a brand-new conversation transfer function that works independently of any cloud backups and only requires you to use your new phone to scan a QR code from your old one. According to WhatsApp’s announcement of the new functionality, “Data is only shared between your two devices, and is fully encrypted during transfer.”

The new procedure has the potential to be far quicker and simpler than the current cloud-based solution, which entails backing up a history of your chats to iCloud or Google Drive and then downloading it to a new device. And it easily gets around any cloud storage restrictions you might have if, for instance, your chat and media backup take up more space than the 5GB of free storage supplied with every iCloud account.

Only devices with the same operating system—Android to Android or iOS to iOS—can use the capability. Depending on which way you’re moving your data, the procedure varies slightly if you want to move a chat history between the two. Here are links to WhatsApp’s help pages for switching between iPhone and Android and switching from Android to iPhone, respectively.

The new feature’s precise release date is not specified in WhatsApp’s statement, but WABetaInfo previously observed that it has been gradually spreading out to beta testers on both Android and iOS. This suggests that the feature’s widespread availability isn’t too far away, especially in light of today’s official announcement. When it is, you can use your old device’s Settings, Chats, and “Chat transfer” options to use the feature.