WhatsApp is testing a new feature that will allow users to migrate their chat history from one Android phone to another.
WhatsApp is testing a new feature that will allow users to migrate their chat history from one Android phone to another.
While WhatsApp has allowed people to easily switch from an Android phone to an iPhone while maintaining their chat history for a while, the ability to do it between Android phones has been sadly lacking. That could be about to change, with the instant messaging platform thought to be testing a feature that would allow histories to be migrated between phones running Android.
WABetaInfo reports that the latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android has a new feature that allows the migration of messages without having to do the previous Google Drive dance.
"The option will be visible within WhatsApp Settings > Chats in the future," WABetaInfo says. "It will allow users to easily migrate their chat history from the phone to another Android device so they may not need to back up their chat history on Google Drive before switching to a new device."
To get around the lack of a dedicated feature Android users have spent years backing their chat history up to Google Drive and then manually restoring it after moving to a new phone. If this new report is on the money, WhatsApp appears to be working to remove the need for the cumbersome workaround for good.
Unfortunately, it isn't yet clear when this new migration feature will be available to those using the version of WhatsApp that's available to the public. WhatsApp is generally pretty good at migrating features from beta, though, and it seems unlikely to be a long process presuming no showstopping bugs are identified.
Oliver has written about technology for more than a decade, spanning some of the biggest properties in the space including Macworld, iMore, Lifewire, and Input. With a focus on mobile, gaming, and anything with a plug or a battery, he’s another member of the Pocket-Lint family with too many empty boxes and not enough places to put them.
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