Guide · For businesses
How to export a WhatsApp chat on Android and iPhone, and turn it into a readable PDF
Exact steps to export a WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business chat on Android and iPhone, what you get, export versus backup, and how businesses use exports for order disputes, staff handovers and records.
By Broadchat teamPublished 7 min read
In short
To export a WhatsApp chat on Android, open the chat, tap the three-dot menu, then More, then Export chat, and choose Without media or Include media. On iPhone, open the chat, tap the contact or group name, then Export chat, and choose with or without media. Android gives a .txt file (plus media attachments), iPhone gives a .zip. The export is a readable copy, not a backup: it cannot be imported back into WhatsApp. Open the file in our free chat viewer to read, search and save it as a PDF.
Key takeaways
- Android: open the chat, tap More options, then More, then Export chat, then Without media or Include media.
- iPhone: open the chat, tap the contact or group name, then Export chat, then With all media, With selected media or Without media.
- iPhone exports arrive as a ZIP file, and view-once messages are never exported.
- An export is a text copy for reading or record-keeping; WhatsApp says it can't be re-imported, so use backups to move chats to a new phone.
- The same steps work in the WhatsApp Business app, which makes exports useful for order disputes, staff handovers and keeping customer records.
Export a WhatsApp chat and save it as a PDF
Time needed: 10 min. You will need: WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business on Android or iPhone, A browser on phone or computer.
Export the chat on Android
Open the individual or group chat, tap More options (three dots), then More, then Export chat. Choose Without media or Include media, then pick where to send it, such as Gmail, Quick Share or Drive.
Or export the chat on iPhone
Open the chat, tap the contact's or group's name at the top, scroll down and tap Export chat. Choose With all media, With selected media or Without media, then Save to Files, Mail or another app.
Find the file
Android creates a text file named like 'WhatsApp Chat with Priya.txt', plus media files if you included them. iPhone creates a ZIP file that contains _chat.txt and any media.
Open it as a readable conversation
Open the free WhatsApp chat viewer on broadchat.in, choose the .txt or .zip and pick your name so your messages sit on the right. You can search, filter by date or person, and the file never leaves your device.
Save as PDF and store it safely
Tap Download PDF and choose Save as PDF in the print dialog. Name the file with the customer and date, store it where your team keeps records, and delete copies you do not need.
The short answer
How to export a WhatsApp chat: on Android, open the chat and tap More options (⋮) → More → Export chat, then choose Without media or Include media. On iPhone, open the chat, tap the contact's or group's name at the top, then Export chat, and choose With all media, With selected media or Without media. You then pick where the file goes, for example email, Drive or Files.
The steps are the same in the WhatsApp Business app. The result is a plain-text copy of the conversation, which is easy to email but hard to read. Below are the exact steps, what each file contains, and how to turn it into a clean PDF with our free WhatsApp chat viewer and PDF tool.
Export a chat on Android
- Open the individual or group chat.
- Tap More options (the three dots at the top right).
- Tap More, then Export chat.
- Choose Without media or Include media.
- Pick where to send it: Gmail, Quick Share, Drive or another app.
WhatsApp's Help Center notes that with Include media, the most recent media in the chat is attached alongside the text file, so very old photos may not come along. If you need every invoice photo from a long chat, save those images separately.
Export a chat on iPhone
- Open the individual or group chat.
- Tap the contact's name or the group name at the top.
- Scroll down and tap Export chat.
- If the chat contains media, choose With all media, With selected media… or Without media.
- Choose Save to Files, Mail, Messages, Notes or another app.
On iPhone the chat is exported as a ZIP file. View-once photos and videos are never included, on either phone.
What you get, and export vs backup
| Export | Backup | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | A readable copy you can share, print or archive | Restoring all chats to WhatsApp on a new phone |
| Scope | One chat at a time | All chats |
| Format | .txt on Android, .zip on iPhone | Google Account (Android) or iCloud (iPhone) |
| Can be put back into WhatsApp | No | Yes |
WhatsApp is clear on this point: an exported chat can't be re-imported because it is a text file, not a backup. If you are changing phones, use Chat backup or WhatsApp's chat transfer instead.
Each line in the text file is one message, with the date, time, sender name and text, for example: 12/10/26, 4:05 pm - Priya: Is the 1 kg cake available for Saturday? Long chats become thousands of such lines, which is why reading them raw is tiring.
Read it as a conversation and save as PDF
Our chat viewer and chat-to-PDF tool opens the exported .txt or .zip in your browser and shows it like a chat again. You choose which person you are, so your messages sit on the right. You can:
- search for a word, an amount or an order number;
- filter by a date range or one sender;
- save the result as a PDF, HTML or text file.
The file is processed in your browser and is not uploaded. If you want numbers rather than a transcript, such as who replies faster or the busiest hours, open the same file in the WhatsApp chat analyzer.
How businesses use chat exports
- Order disputes. Priya says she ordered 2 kg, your staff wrote 1 kg. An export with timestamps settles it quickly and politely.
- Staff handover. When a salesperson leaves, export their key customer chats so the next person knows the history.
- Records. Some businesses keep written proof of approvals, quotes or delivery confirmations.
- Training. A good customer conversation, with personal details removed, is useful material for new staff.
Store it safely
Name files consistently (customer, topic, date), keep them in one shared folder with access limited to the people who need them, and avoid forwarding exports around in WhatsApp groups. If an export includes media, check the size before emailing; large exports can exceed email attachment limits, so use a drive link instead.
When exporting stops being enough
If you export chats every week to settle disputes or hand work over, the real problem is that customer conversations live on one phone. With the WhatsApp Business API and a shared team inbox, every chat is stored in one place, several agents can see the history, and you can add notes and tags to each contact. With coexistence, a number can stay on the WhatsApp Business app while also being connected to the API, and Meta lets the platform sync up to six months of one-to-one chat history when the number is connected. See WhatsApp coexistence for the details and limits.
Agencies can offer this as a managed service under their own brand with a white-label WhatsApp platform.
Sources
- How to export your chat history (Android and iOS) — WhatsApp Help Center, checked 4 November 2026
- How to back up your chat history — WhatsApp Help Center, checked 4 November 2026
- Onboarding WhatsApp Business app users (coexistence) — Meta for Developers, checked 4 November 2026
Broadchat team · Product and partner success team
The people who build and support Broadchat, the white-label WhatsApp Business API platform. We write from what we see while onboarding partners and their clients on the official WhatsApp Cloud API, and we check every article against Meta's current documentation.
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Export chat option on WhatsApp?
On Android, open the chat and tap More options (three dots), then More, then Export chat. On iPhone, open the chat, tap the contact or group name at the top, and scroll to Export chat.
Can I import an exported WhatsApp chat back into WhatsApp?
No. WhatsApp says an exported chat is a text file, not a backup, so it can't be re-imported. To move chats to a new phone, use WhatsApp's chat backup or chat transfer.
How do I convert a WhatsApp chat to PDF?
Export the chat (without media is enough for text), then open the .txt or .zip in our free WhatsApp chat viewer, choose your name, and tap Download PDF. In the print dialog, choose Save as PDF. The file is processed in your browser and not uploaded.
Why are some photos missing from my exported chat?
On Android, Include media attaches the most recent media rather than everything in a long chat, and view-once media is never exported on any phone. Save important images separately if you need all of them.
Can I export all WhatsApp chats at once?
No. Export works one chat at a time. To keep all chats, use WhatsApp's chat backup to your Google Account or iCloud.