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Transfer iOS WhatsApp to Android (Free?)

C

Chapiman

Newbie
Hi,
As an Android lover (and software developer) I couldn't say "no" to company-free-iPhone
I would very much like to go back to Android, but I don't seem to find a good (free) way to transfer my chat history (leaving media aside) to a new Android device.
WhatsApp's support reply is simple: "Unfortunately at this time, it's not possible to transfer your history across platforms..." (what a pity)
Would appreciate any idea or experience you might have with that.
Thanks!
 
svim said:
Have you tried using the Export/Import option in the WhatsApp app itself? (Export using the Apple app, Import using the Android app)
https://www.androidcentral.com/how-restore-your-whatsapp-chats-iphone-android
https://metro.co.uk/2018/04/18/transfer-whatsapp-iphone-android-7478056/
Click to expand...

That is an old article.
It may be that in the past iPhone was able to backup to google drive, but currently it backs up only to iCould.
Android has no idea how to use iCloud, therefore it cannot retrieve the messages (/+media).
emailing chat by chat is a mess, and I don't see a way importing it back to WhatsApp on Android after emailing it from iPhone.
 
Chapiman said:
That is an old article.
It may be that in the past iPhone was able to backup to google drive, but currently it backs up only to iCould.
Android has no idea how to use iCloud, therefore it cannot retrieve the messages (/+media).
emailing chat by chat is a mess, and I don't see a way importing it back to WhatsApp on Android after emailing it from iPhone.
Click to expand...

The article posting date is February 10, 2020 so yes it's a couple of months old but I don't consider that to be dated.
Since you apparently have the WhatsApp app on your iPhone set up to use iCloud as its default backup, go into the app's settings and change it accordingly to use a different default. Then export your data again.

As for 'Android has no idea how use iCloud' that's very much a distortion of reality. Apple refuses to allow other companies access to its services. Yes a company could hack into something like iCloud storage but legally that's just an invitation for Apple's massive legal departments. There are patent and copyright laws that prevent companies from just using anything they want. Even Open Source copyleft law has restrictions, multiply that a thousand times over for a closed-source, extremely inclusive corporation like Apple and its love for law suits.
 
iOS uses iCloud
Android uses Google Drive
There's no mix in between
You cannot backup from iPhone to google drive or from Android to iCloud.
It's a pity that WhatsApp are not giving any way of backing up at least your messages so that moving between OS won't make a difference.
 
Chapiman said:
iOS uses iCloud
Android uses Google Drive
There's no mix in between
Click to expand...
So what if you take Mike's suggestion above and log in to iCloud from a browser, then download the backup? You don't need to upload to Google Drive, just download and copy to the right folder on the Android device.

Have you tried, or are you assuming it doesn't work?
 
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