After weeks of rumors, WhatsApp finally allowed the transfer of message history and content between Android and iOS. This feature was officially announced today at Samsung’s Unpacked event. Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3 will be the first to do this, covering transfers. From iOS devices to new foldable devices.

This feature will be gradually rolled out on Samsung devices with Android 10 or higher, and will eventually be rolled out to all other Android devices and iPhones “in the coming weeks.” There is no clear timetable for this new option, but it seems that Samsung has pulled the line to maintain exclusivity, hoping to eventually persuade iPhone users to switch to Samsung. WhatsApp did not specify when Android users can transfer data to iPhone.

Chat transfer is possible when iOS and Android devices are physically connected via USBC with a lightning cable (the kind that comes with all modern iPhones). They cannot transfer data between platforms via the Internet.

If you have multiple cloud backups of your chat history, pictures, and voice messages, the backups will not be merged, and the data transferred after the backup is created will overwrite the existing backup.

Since its establishment more than ten years ago, WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging applications in the world. Since then, messaging applications have been limited to one instance on one device. In order to restore messages, pictures, chat history, and voice memos to a new device, it needs to be backed up to local storage, but it is never possible to transfer data between operating systems.