Joining the WhatsApp exodus? Import chat history to Telegram now, here’s how to do it on iOS and Android

Telegram has gained millions of new users after many people decided to leave WhatsApp. To help people easily decide in switching messaging apps, Telegram’s latest update offers a way for new users to import their chat history from WhatsApp.

Telegram now lets chat history import in a new update

Telegram rolled out its latest update on Thursday that highlights a new function to allow WhatsApp users to import their chat history. Users looking forward to doing this should not delete WhatsApp just yet. The process is also different on iOS and Android.

On Android, open the WhatsApp chat, press the kebab button on the upper right corner, select More, and then Export chat. A Share menu will appear where users will have to choose Telegram. Once Telegram opens, choose the chat where the WhatsApp data will be imported.

On iOS devices, open the Contact Info through the chat icon. Select Export Chat on the bottom part of the menu page, choose Telegram from the Share menu, and select the chat where the messages need to be imported.

“Messages will be imported into the current day but will also include their original timestamps. All members of the chat on Telegram will see the messages,” Telegram noted. The messaging platform also clarifies that importing chat histories will not consume more storage because Telegram will use the same data that older apps had already stored before the chat history was imported. Aside from WhatsApp, the new feature will also work on Line and KakaoTalk.

The same Telegram update also makes the option to delete sent chat more flexible. Other apps will only let users delete texts on both ends for a certain period. But the update lets Telegram users do it at any time while the feature has also been extended to secret chats and call history.

Telegram gains 100 million new users in January

WhatsApp initially told users that the policy change, which includes data sharing with Facebook for advertising purposes, would have been mandatory starting Feb. 8. This resulted in massive new user gains on the part of Telegram and Signal. The Facebook-owned platform has since delayed its implementation and clarified that private messages and calls will remain secure and encrypted.

Telegram has undoubtedly benefited from the public’s reaction to WhatsApp’s new policy. In the same update, Telegram announced that it gained 100 million new users this month alone.

Featured photo by Dimitri Karastelev on Unsplash