WhatsApp chat transfer becomes easier with QR code support, but there’s a catch

WhatsApp has started rolling out QR code chat transfer support for its users. The feature allows users to transfer their chats from one device to another. The new functionality will be helpful to WhatsApp customers while switching from an old to a new phone in transferring their account quickly. However, QR code chat transfer works only when both the devices run on the same operating system.

The feature was announced by Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg who took to his official Facebook account to share a video of the feature. “If you want to move your WhatsApp chats to a new phone, you can now do it more privately without your chats ever leaving your devices,” he wrote in the post.

Here’s how it works

WhatsApp’s new QR code-based chat transfer feature works on the local WiFi connection. WhatsApp says that users can save their complete chat and media history without having to exit the app.

To transfer, both the devices – old and new must be connected to the same WiFi network. Now, open WhatsApp on your old/existing device and go to Settings. Here, tap on Chats and then tap on Chat transfer. Users will see a prompt to scan the QR code from the new phone.

The method, WhatsApp says is more secure than using unofficial third party apps which lack clear privacy practices. It is also more private than cloud services. As the transfer process is authenticated with a QR code, data is only shared between your two devices and is fully encrypted during the transfer process, it added.

It’s faster than backing up and restoring chat history. With the new QR code-based chat transfer, users can also transfer large media files and attachments, which were usually too large to keep.

In another news, the platform is soon getting a new feature that will allow users to send high-quality videos. According to a report by WaBetaInfo, the feature is already available to some beta testers. WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.14.10 is marked as a compatible update, the report states.

Updated: 30 Jun 2023, 10:54 PM IST