WhatsApp to make backups between Android, iOS easier

If you’re planning to switch from iOS to Android or vice-versa, you probably know that data backup and transfer between the two platforms can be a pain. But, WhatsApp wants to make your life a bit earlier.

The Facebook-owned app, which is the world’s most popular instant messaging platform, has introduced a new feature for users to transfer chats and media from Android to iOS and vice-versa without much issue.

This feature has been officially announced at Samsung’s Unpacked event and the new Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 will be the first phones to get this feature.

Backup and transfer between the two operating systems will be possible when both phones are physically connected via a USB-C to lightning cable. To be clear, the USB-C port of the cable should be plugged into the Android device and the lightning port on the iPhone.

However, if you have already transferred between iOS and Android in the past and have two separate cloud backups, these won’t merge, unfortunately. The newly transferred data will overwrite any existing WhatsApp backup.

This new WhatsApp feature is confirmed to roll out to all Samsung devices on Android 10 or above, and then eventually be available to all Android phones as well as iPhones.