WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging application in the world, and is used by practically anyone with a smartphone. One of the biggest questions nowadays when you need to change your device is: “But am I losing WhatsApp chats? How can I save them? Can I transfer them from one phone to another? ”. Not everyone is aware that WhatsApp offers different methods of backing up and saving chats, useful to avoid losing your messages and to be able to transfer them between two different smartphones. 
These methods, however, differ according to the platform you use: Android in fact, provides backup on the Google cloud, the famous Google Drive, while iOS allows the user to backup to iCloud, Apple's proprietary cloud. In addition to these two methods, of course, there is still the possibility of backing up to physical storage. In the case of Android it is in fact possible to back up on the internal memory of the device and then be able to move it elsewhere and save it, iOS instead allows you to make the classic backup via iTunes, which can also save application data, and therefore, also the WhatsApp data.
The procedure for transferring chats from one Android smartphone to another is quite simple, and it is very quick: by choosing the backup on Google Drive you can even plan how often the backup must be carried out, without having to intervene in the future.
Backup and restore via Google Drive:
- Open WhatsApp on your old smartphone, click on the 3 dots at the top right and tap on "Settings".
- From the "Settings" of WhatsApp tap on "Chat", and you will find yourself in the chat settings screen.
- Within this menu, tap on "Chat backup". In front you will find a screen in which you can choose some options for the Backup of the chats, which we are going to illustrate.
- Within this screen we have the possibility to choose different settings concerning the backup: to lean on Google Drive simply tap on "Account" and select the Google account on which to backup and saving on Drive will be enabled. In this screen you can choose different options, such as the frequency of the backup on Drive, decide whether to backup only if connected to a WiFi network and choose whether to include the videos in the backup. In addition, you can force a local and drive backup by tapping the green “Back Up” button.
- To restore to the new device, simply install WhatsApp, open the application and perform the normal activation procedure via telephone number: if the backup is successful, the configuration will automatically propose you to download the backup of the messages, including the attached multimedia files.
Backup and restore via local folder:
Backup and restore via local folder allows those who do not want to use Google Drive to be able to move their messages from one device to another, simply by physically moving the files related to the backup. In order to carry out the procedure, it is necessary to have two devices with a microSD card reader, or a PC on which to temporarily save the data.
- Go to the WhatsApp backup settings screen as shown above and tap "Back Up" without configuring Google Drive.
- After a successful backup, if you want to use your SD card, you need to install a file manager, unless your phone already has one, we leave you the link of a completely free file manager, developed by ASUS for your devices: ASUS File Manager.
- Open the newly installed file manager, select the WhatsApp folder, and copy it to the SD card. If you do not want to use the SD card, or your phone does not have expandable memory, connect the device to your PC and copy the WhatsApp folder to the PC. To restore it to the new device, simply connect it to the PC and copy the folder back to the root directory of the device's internal memory.
- Then install WhatsApp from the Play Store, and opening it, the application will automatically detect the backup, giving you the possibility to restore the messages.
The procedure for transferring WhatsApp chats from iOS to iOS is very similar to the analogous one for Android, and it also provides two alternatives, namely iCloud or backup via iTunes on PC or Mac. The choice is up to you, if you prefer the convenience of the cloud, or the security of local backup.
Backup chats via iCloud:
- Open the WhatsApp settings by clicking on the "Settings" symbol at the bottom right, and select the chat menu.
- In the chat menu, tap on "Chat backup".
- A screen similar to that of the Android equivalent will open, where you can choose the frequency with which to backup, decide whether or not to include the videos or force a backup. To make the backup simply tap on “Back up now”, and the backup will start, saving all the chats you have in your device to the cloud.
- To restore the chats, simply install the WhatsApp app on another device using the same account, and during the configuration you will be offered to restore your data.
The alternative method is to make a simple backup via iTunes and restore it to the new device. After reactivating the app, your chats will be there waiting for you.
To transfer chats from iOS to Android and vice versa, the procedure is slightly complicated, and involves the use of third-party applications and support software in order to be completed correctly. The alternatives are few, we go from a handful of paid software that require the use of a PC or a Mac as an interlude, to an app available on the Play Store, but which still requires the use of a PC in order to complete the procedure.
ALTERNATIVE 1: WazzApp Migrator.
WazzApp Migrator is a € 4.99 application that allows you to migrate the chat backup from iOS to Android, using a variant of the local chat backup technique on your device. This is necessary because the backup files of the two platforms are not directly compatible, and need to be "converted" before they can be restored.
This procedure requires the use of a PC or a Mac in order to extract the file needed to restore the chats from the iTunes backup, and is documented on the application developer's website, and is often updated to work with the latest versions of the two operating systems and two apps. I leave you the links to the instructions on the developer's website: Wazzapp Migrator Windows | Wazzapp Migrator Mac.
After extracting the file, simply copy it into the internal memory of your device, into the “Downloads” or “WazzappMigrator” folder. Launch the application downloaded from this link and follow the instructions on the screen.
ALTERNATIVE 2: use a tool for PC or Mac.
The list of tools that aim to be able to restore chats from one platform to another is long, very long, but often many are not updated and are no longer able to work with the new versions of iOS and apps for the two platforms. Also note the significantly higher cost, which often approaches thirty euros, a considerable cost if the application does not actually work.
We have tested two applications that should work on current software versions, which are “WonderShare DrFone” and “Backuptrans Android iPhone WhatsApp Transfer Plus”. The former can be used as an alternative to WazzappMigrator, but it comes on the market at a considerably higher price, even if it saves you the hassle of having to manually fiddle with the iOS backup files. The second one promises a two-way transfer: we could only test the transfer from Android to iOS, which worked very well and is not difficult to make. In any case, both softwares give you the possibility to download a demo version, and if you feel comfortable, the possibility to upgrade to the full version.
Unfortunately, even today, the transfer of WhatsApp chats between the two platforms is still a very inconvenient and cumbersome procedure. All this is due to the rivalry between Apple and Google and Apple's closed software environment that does not allow the use of third-party Clouds for the management of device backups. Let us know below in the comments if this guide was helpful to you, what we can improve and, hopefully, what guide you would like to see in the future. Furthermore, the Evosmart staff is at your complete disposal in case you need it!