How to Export a WhatsApp Chat on iPhone

By Josep Mampel Marques, updated November 9, 2026

To export a WhatsApp chat on iPhone, open the chat, tap the contact or group name at the top, tap Export chat, choose whether to include media, and pick where to send or save the file. WhatsApp creates a .zip file with the messages in a text file called _chat.txt and, if you chose to include media, the photos and other files. You can then open that .zip in PrintChats to read it as a chat or save it as a PDF.

Steps to export a chat on iPhone

1. Open WhatsApp and go to the individual or group chat you want to keep.
2. Tap the contact or group name at the top of the chat to open its info screen.
3. Scroll down and tap Export chat.
4. If the chat contains media, choose an option. Recent versions offer to export with all media, with selected media, or without media. Older versions show Attach Media and Without Media. The exact labels may vary by version and language.
5. Choose where the file goes from the iPhone share sheet, for example Messages, Mail, Notes or Save to Files.

If you do not see Export chat in step 3, read why Export chat is missing or blocked.

Which destination to pick

The share sheet decides where the .zip ends up, and that decides how easy it is to open later.

• Save to Files is the simplest choice if you want to open the chat on the same iPhone. Pick a folder you will recognise, such as On My iPhone or iCloud Drive.
• Mail sends the .zip to an email address, which is handy if you want the file on a computer. Large exports with media can exceed what an email service accepts, so for big chats Files or iCloud Drive is safer. See how to email a WhatsApp chat to yourself.
• AirDrop, when it appears in the share sheet, sends the file straight to a nearby Mac.

What you get

WhatsApp's help center says the chat history is exported as a ZIP file. Inside is _chat.txt, a plain text file with one line per message (date, time, sender and text). With media included, the photos, videos, voice notes and documents sit next to it as separate files, and the text refers to them by file name. There is a full breakdown in what is inside a WhatsApp export zip.

Some things are never part of an export. WhatsApp notes that view-once messages are not exported, and the export cannot be re-imported into WhatsApp because it is a text file, not a backup.

Turn the export into a readable chat or a PDF

A raw _chat.txt is hard to read: no bubbles, no photos and every line starts with a timestamp. PrintChats turns it back into a conversation in your browser, without uploading the file.

1. Open PrintChats in Safari on the same iPhone.
2. Tap Choose your WhatsApp export (.zip or .txt) and pick the .zip you saved in Files.
3. Pick your name in the I am menu so your messages appear on the right.
4. Use Search or the From and To dates to narrow the chat if you only need part of it.
5. Tap Save as PDF to open the print screen and save the result. The full walkthrough is in how to print a WhatsApp chat or save it as PDF.

Export is not the same as a backup or a transfer

Exporting gives you a copy you can read outside WhatsApp. It does not move your chats to a new phone. For that, WhatsApp has a separate chat transfer feature and iCloud backups, which keep the chats inside the app. If your goal is to keep a readable copy or to print a conversation, export is the right tool. The differences are laid out in WhatsApp backup vs export chat.