The export starts later than the chat did
An export only holds what's on the device you export from. Open the chat there and scroll to the top. If it starts on the same date, the older messages aren't on that device. This can happen after you change phones or reinstall WhatsApp without moving your chats. WhatsApp doesn't keep chats on its servers, so it can't send them back.
They may still be in one of these places:
- Your phone, if you exported from a computer. A phone usually holds much more.
- The other person's phone. Their copy may go back further. Ask them to export the chat and send you the file.
- Your old phone. If WhatsApp is still on it, the chat may be too. Signing in there signs you out on your current phone.
If your phone goes back further than your export, you've reached WhatsApp's limit. An export keeps the most recent messages. Its current help pages don't state the limit. The figures people generally report are about 40,000 messages without media and about 10,000 with media. Any record made from the file shows the period it really covers, so nobody is misled about what's in it.
To reach further back:
- Export without media. You get more messages, though voice notes and photos only show as a line of text.
- Keep every file. If you end up with several exports covering different periods, keep them all and name them by date.
Voice notes or photos are missing
The file only holds what you asked for and what's actually on your phone.
- You chose Without media. Export again and choose With all media on iPhone or Include media on Android.
- You're on Android with a long chat. WhatsApp says Include media attaches the most recent media, so older files can be left out.
- You exported from WhatsApp Web. It never includes media. Export from your phone.
- You exported from the Mac app. It only exports what's on your Mac. Export from your phone.
- The file isn't on your phone any more. If a voice note or photo was deleted or never downloaded, WhatsApp can't add it. Open the chat, scroll to it and tap to download it if you can, then export again.
When you open your export in Chat on File, it tells you how many files are missing before you pay. Those are listed by name in the record so the gap is visible.
Export chat isn't in the menu
The usual cause is Restricted chat, which WhatsApp's newer versions use in place of Advanced chat privacy. While it's on, nobody in the chat can export it, and you can't save media to your gallery automatically. Either setting blocks the export.
- In a chat with one person, either of you can turn it off. On iPhone, tap the person's name, then Restricted chat. On Android, tap the three dots, then View contact, then Restricted chat. You can only change it on your main phone.
- In a group, only an admin can turn it off. You'd need to ask one.
- If it can't be turned off, or if changing it would cause you a problem, take screenshots of what matters now, and ask a lawyer how to handle it. Changing the setting may be visible to the other person.
If the setting isn't on and you still can't see Export chat, update WhatsApp. The Windows app doesn't offer export at all, so use your phone or WhatsApp Web.
The export freezes or fails
This usually happens with long chats and a lot of media. Try these in order:
- Update WhatsApp and restart your phone.
- Free up storage. WhatsApp has to build the whole file on your phone first, and it can be large.
- Stay on Wi-Fi and keep WhatsApp open while it works.
- Save to Files or Drive. Email often rejects large attachments, even when the export itself worked.
- If it still fails, export without media to make sure you have the text, then try again with media.
You can't find the file
WhatsApp doesn't keep a copy in a folder of its own. The file goes wherever you sent it from the share menu, so look there first.
- On iPhone, if you chose Save to Files, open the Files app and check the location you picked, or search for "WhatsApp Chat".
- On Android, check the app you shared it to: Drive, Gmail, Quick Share or your Files app under Downloads.
- If you closed the share menu without choosing anything, there's no file. Export again and choose a place you'll remember.
Some messages aren't there
An export can only include what's still in the chat on your phone.
- View once photos and videos are never exported.
- Disappearing messages that have already gone can't be brought back. WhatsApp also says WhatsApp Web exports leave out disappearing messages altogether.
- Messages deleted for everyone appear as a line saying the message was deleted. The original words aren't in the file.
- Messages you deleted for yourself are gone from your copy. WhatsApp says a deleted message can only come back from a backup that included it.
The dates or times look wrong
The times in an export are in the time zone of the phone that made it, so someone in another country may see different times on their copy. If your phone's clock changed part way through a chat, messages can look out of order.
Dates can also be ambiguous. 03/04 could mean 3 April or 4 March, depending on your phone's settings. Chat on File works this out from the whole file, and asks you to choose when every date in the chat could be read both ways.
The file won't open
Chat on File opens the .zip or .txt file exactly as WhatsApp made it. If it can't find a chat in the file, check these:
- The file is the export itself. A chat backup or a database file from your phone won't work.
- If your phone unzipped the file, go back to the original .zip, because the voice notes and photos are in there.
- The text hasn't been opened and saved again in another program, which can change its format.
If none of that helps, email [email protected]. Tell us what your phone is and what the screen says. Please don't send the chat itself.
