• Introduction
• Why Are People Leaving WhatsApp
• How To Export Chat Logs
• How To Export Contacts
• How To Migrate Group Chats
• Chat Log Utilities

Introduction

A few months ago WhatsApp’s controversial Terms of Service update led to panic on a global scale. Users who did not accept the new ToS, which would mandate them to allow WhatsApp to share user/usage data with Facebook, faced losing access to their account and contacts. In the heat of the moment, many people who felt their privacy was being invaded switched to newer messaging apps.

Following backlash, WhatsApp has softened its terms. But if you are still looking for some change, or just need help following your friend group, this page has tips to help you emigrate from WhatsApp.

Disclaimer: This page and Data Horde itself were not sponsored or financially endorsed by WhatsApp, Facebook Inc. or any of their competitors at the time of writing. What is presented here is given for informative purposes and not to smear WhatsApp against any particular competitor.

Originally published as https://datahorde.org/the-whatsapp-emigrants-guide/, May 13, 2021.

Why Are People Leaving WhatsApp

WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in the world, so why are people leaving when everyone is still here?

• Privacy Concerns: WhatsApp prides itself with its end-to-end chat encryption which protect users’ chat messages. Yet the app still exposes other kinds of personal data. As mentioned above, the new Terms of Service will allow for data sharing, such as contacts, with Facebook. This has drawn ire from privy folks and privacy regulators.
• The rise of global competitors such as Telegram and Signal which offer more transparency and privacy; as well as regional competitors such as WeChat in China and LINE in Japan.
• Security vulnerabilities and frequent scams circulating.

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If any of the above is concerning to you, or your contact groups, you might want to use a new app to message your contacts, friends and family! Read on to find out how you can export your WhatsApp data.

How To Export Chat Logs

You can export the history for a single chat, contact or group, from the chat options. Fortunately WhatsApp already has a guide on their website. When exporting like this, remember to choose “attach media” to also include photos and other media shared within chat.

Warning!

Google Drive and iCloud backups are not readable outside of WhatsApp. These are only worth your while if you:

A) Plan to switch phones and to continue using WhatsApp.
B) Need a backup in case your phone is damaged, but will continue to use WhatsApp.

Migrating to Telegram

Telegram, one of WhatsApp’s most ambitious competitors, can import WhatsApp chat logs directly. Starting with Telegram 7.4, you can directly migrate your contact/group chats from WhatsApp to Telegram. After exporting, you will be able to see who sent what message when on Telegram, and can continue the conversation as if you had always been using this app in the first place.

How To Export Contacts

Most apps nowadays can read your contacts from your smartphone so you shouldn’t have to add them in manually. As long as your contacts switch to the same messaging apps, you should be able to reconnect soon enough.

That being said, if you would like to make a list of your WhatsApp contacts you can do so from WhatsApp Web, or by using a couple of tools. See iMyFone‘s contact export guide for more details.

How To Migrate Group Chats

It’s one thing for one person to move to a new app, but how do you get your group chat to migrate together? So here are some tips to make the process as easy as possible:

• As mentioned above, Telegram in particular makes it easy to migrate group chats and continue the conversation.
• Talk to your group members to see what messaging apps they already have installed. It’s a lot easier for someone to use an installed app than to try a new one.
• Ask your group admin to change the group description to link the invite for your new group.
• Consider muting, or if you’re feeling naughty kicking, all members from the group to make sure people notice that the old group has closed down.

Chat Log Utilities

Here are some tools you can use to tinker with your chat data liberated from WhatsApp:

• WhatsApp Analyzer: A WhatsApp chat visualizer built in Python. (Source Code)
• PetengDedet/WhatsApp-Analyzer: Analyze WhatsApp chat (Message Count, Domain Mentions, Emoji Rank etc.)

Want us to add a resource to this page? Just send it to [email protected].

What happens after the effective date (15 May 2021)?

Considering the majority of users who have seen the update have accepted, we’ll continue to display a notification in WhatsApp providing more information about the update and reminding those who haven’t had a chance to do so to review and accept. We currently have no plans for these reminders to become persistent and to limit the functionality of the app.

WhatsApp Info Page

Although your chats are no longer at risk, it never hurts to take preemptive action. See our WhatsApp Emigration Guide to learn how to save and export your chats with contacts and groups.

WhatsApp’s controversial new Terms of Service update will begin rolling out on May 15. Users who do not accept the new ToS will have vital features and access to their chat logs gradually restricted. If you are not a fan of the new policy, back up your chats ASAP!

Back in January of this year, WhatsApp came under fire prior to a scheduled policy change. The new Terms of Service would mandate sharing data with Facebook and its other product/subsidiaries. Users who did not accept, would no longer be able to continue using the app. Many users felt that this encroached on their privacy and outrage ensued.

In the end, the ToS update was pushed later into the year with similar terms, albeit improved clarity. As the calendar rolls to May 15 these new ToS will gradually come into effect. We are told, WhatsApp will progressively restrict more features from users who refuse to accept these new terms. This includes only being able to respond to calls and chat messages as well as hiding chat logs!

You read that right, WhatsApp will be able to keep all your message history and family photos away from you, if and until you agree to the new terms. The good news is that these restrictions won’t hit immediately on the 15th. A clarification made in response to an inquiry from Tech Crunch, states that the log-block will show up at an unspecified point past May 15th.

It should be noted that the updated ToS changes are still not popular with everyone, with German regulators going so far as to issue an order banning the proposed terms. So if you’ve got any birthday photos or study notes lying in group chats, now would be the ideal time to make a copy.

To learn more about how to export/migrate your WhatsApp data, check out our WhatsApp Emigration Guide.