Telegram adds feature to import your WhatsApp chat history

Telegram has announced that the app will soon allow the import of chat history from other apps like WhatsApp, with its latest update. This year has seen a spike in interest for secure messaging apps like Telegram, specially after WhatsApp’s privacy policy fiasco.

Telegram has announced that the feature is available for Android and iOS. Apart from WhatsApp, chat histories from Facebook’s Messenger, KakaoTalk and Line can also be imported.

Telegram app logo

WhatsApp chat history can be imported via Telegram now

The news was spotted by WABetainfo, which says that the process is obviously not automatic and will require some work from the user. However, this feature is unique to Telegram and it is is a whole lot better than losing your message history completely.

Imported messages are marked as Imported. On previous Telegram versions, imported messages are marked as Forwarded. Migrating group chats is supported too.
Note that Telegram informs that messages were imported from another app, so they can’t guarantee they are real (seen that another user might modify the exported chat before importing it to Telegram).
This has been an interesting move against WhatsApp. How will WhatsApp react? It must be said that WhatsApp might respond to this affront offering other new features, thus favouring all WhatsApp users.
The feature is available today on Telegram Messenger for iOS, available on the App Store. An update for Android should be planned very soon.
Stay tuned to discover more!

The new feature works fine on Android and iOS. For WhatsApp, it uses the normal export process with the ZIP file generated after which it can be imported to the chat app. The addition of this feature comes as Telegram has reported a huge increase in user numbers, with the service now crossing over 500 million active users worldwide.

The import process works on a chat-by-chat basis, however, it appears to work for both group and individual conversations (at least for WhatsApp). In order to import a chat from Facebook’s Messenger app on iOS, open the specified conversation, and tap the contact name or group name from the top of the chat to open the info screen. After that, the Export Chat option opens the iOS Share Sheet, where users can find the option to select Telegram. Just tap on it to import the chat.

The ability to import chats is not the only update for Telegram though. Additionally, there are some new privacy enhancements including the ability to delete groups, secret chats, and call history for all concerned parties at once. Enhancements have been made to Voice Chats with new volume controls, and there is also an improved audio player in this update.

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About the Author

Usman has been playing games for as long as he can remember. He is an editor at iThinkDifferent and writes about games, Apple news, hardware, productivity guides, and more. When not writing for iTD, Usman loves to play competitive Team Fortress 2, spends time honing his football skills, and watches superhero movies.

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