How to Export a WhatsApp Chat on Android and iPhone
WhatsApp is the only major messaging app with a one-tap export built into every chat. This guide shows exactly where the button is on Android and iPhone, which option to pick, and what to do with the file once you have it.
- Android & iPhone
- .txt export
- Ready for analysis
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How to export a WhatsApp chat
- Open the chat in the WhatsApp app on your phone.
- Android: tap the three-dot menu, then More, then Export chat. iPhone: tap the contact or group name, then Export Chat.
- Choose Without Media.
- Save or send the file: a .txt on Android, a .zip on iPhone.
Does the other person know? No. WhatsApp does not notify anyone when you export a chat; the copy stays on your phone until you send it somewhere.
Exporting a WhatsApp chat produces a plain-text file with every message, its timestamp, and the sender's name. It takes under a minute, the other person is never notified, and the file is the ideal input for AI chat analysis.
Key takeaways
- The export button is inside each chat: Android uses the three-dot menu, iPhone uses the contact name at the top.
- Choose Without Media. The file is far smaller and the limit rises from 10,000 to 40,000 messages.
- Android gives you a .txt file; iPhone gives you a .zip with _chat.txt inside. MosaicChats accepts both as-is.
- WhatsApp Web and the desktop apps cannot export. Do it on your phone.
How do you export a WhatsApp chat on Android?
Any individual or group chat can be exported from inside the conversation. These steps match the current Android app.
Open the chat you want to export
Open WhatsApp and tap the individual or group conversation you want to save.
Open the chat menu
Tap the vertical three-dot icon in the top-right corner of the chat.
Tap More, then Export chat
Tap More at the bottom of the menu, then Export chat.
Choose Without Media
WhatsApp asks whether to include photos, videos, and voice notes. Choose Without Media. Text, timestamps, and sender names are all kept, and that is everything an analysis needs.
Save or share the file
The share sheet appears. Email the file to yourself, save it to Google Drive, or send it to any app that can reach your computer. The file is named after the chat, for example WhatsApp Chat with Sam.txt.
How do you export a WhatsApp chat on iPhone?
The iPhone flow starts from the contact info screen rather than a menu, and ends in the standard iOS share sheet.
Open the chat and tap the name at the top
Tap the contact or group name in the header to open the info screen. You can also swipe left on a chat in the Chats list, tap More, and pick Export Chat from there.
Scroll down and tap Export Chat
The option sits near the bottom of the info screen, below the media and settings sections.
Choose Without Media
As on Android, Without Media keeps the file small and raises the message limit.
Pick a destination in the share sheet
Save to Files, Mail, or AirDrop to a Mac all work. iPhone packages the export as a .zip containing _chat.txt; upload the zip as-is, no unpacking needed.
Now that you have your export file, you can upload the .txt or .zip as-is to the WhatsApp chat analyzer to see who texts more, when you both talk, and how the tone has changed.
What about WhatsApp Web and desktop?
Neither WhatsApp Web nor the Windows and Mac apps offer Export Chat. Run the export on your phone and send the file to your computer. Note that a chat backup (Settings, Chats, Chat backup) is not the same thing: it is an encrypted copy for restoring WhatsApp, not a readable file.
Details and regional limits are in the WhatsApp Help Center.
What is in the exported file?
Every line of the .txt follows the same shape: date, time, sender name, message. That consistency is why WhatsApp exports are the easiest format for any analysis tool to read.
Included
- - Date and time of every message
- - Sender name (or phone number for unsaved contacts)
- - Full message text, including emoji
- - System lines such as group changes and missed calls
- - Placeholders like "image omitted" where media was
Not included (Without Media)
- - Photos, videos, GIFs, and stickers
- - Voice notes and other audio
- - Documents and PDFs
- - Messages deleted before the export
- - Anything older than the 40,000-message cap
Export limits and tips for long chats
Export size limits
Without Media
40,000
most recent messages per export. Enough for several years of a typical one-to-one chat.
With Media
10,000
most recent messages per export, plus every attachment, which makes the file large and slow to share.
- Always pick Without Media. It quadruples the limit and keeps the file to a few megabytes.
- Email or AirDrop beats cloud links for getting the file onto a computer; some share targets convert or rename it.
- Update WhatsApp first if the Export Chat option is missing. The menu layout occasionally moves between versions.
- Very long chats lose their oldest messages. If the beginning matters, keep an older export alongside the new one.
What can you learn from the file?
Uploading the export to MosaicChats turns the text into charts and summaries of how the two of you actually communicate.
Sentiment over time
A week-by-week emotional timeline that shows warm stretches, tense patches, and slow drifts you might not notice day to day.
Communication balance
Each person's share of the messages, how weekly volume has moved, and whether the effort is shared or one-sided.
Activity patterns
The hours and days each of you is most active, as a heatmap. For reading reply speed yourself, see what reply speed says about a relationship.
Personality insights
MBTI-style traits and texting style inferred from how each person writes, with the reasoning shown alongside the result.
Frequently asked questions
If I export a WhatsApp chat, will the other person know?
No. WhatsApp sends no notification, badge, or chat message when you export a conversation, in a one-to-one chat or a group. The file is created on your phone and goes only where you send it. The other person would only find out if you shared the file with them.
Why is the Export chat option missing?
Usually because someone in the chat has turned on Advanced Chat Privacy, which blocks everyone in that chat from exporting it. Otherwise, update WhatsApp, and make sure you are using the phone app: WhatsApp Web and the desktop apps have no export.
Does exporting delete the chat from my phone?
No. Export makes a copy. The original conversation stays in WhatsApp exactly as it was.
Why does my export stop partway through a long chat?
WhatsApp caps each export at the most recent 40,000 messages without media, or 10,000 with media. If a chat is longer than that, the oldest messages are left out. Choosing Without Media gives you the larger limit.
Why did my iPhone give me a .zip instead of a .txt?
On iPhone, WhatsApp packages the export as a .zip archive containing a file called _chat.txt. You do not need to unzip it: MosaicChats reads the archive directly. Android produces a plain .txt file.
Can I export a group chat?
Yes. The same steps work for groups. Every message in the file is labelled with the sender's name, so analysis tools can tell participants apart.
Can I export from WhatsApp Web or the desktop app?
No. Export Chat only exists in the Android and iPhone apps. If you mostly use WhatsApp on a computer, run the export on your phone and send the file to yourself.
References & Sources
- "How to export your chat history." WhatsApp Help Center.Source