WhatsApp has, for many years, chosen to avoid adding too many features to the app. The features that it did get would come years apart in most cases, which allowed other apps, Telegram being the most promiment example, to get ahead.
But that changed recently. WhatsApp has been on a feature-adding spree for some time and is also testing new features that will arrive in the future. Just a few days back, WhatsApp finally brought the ability to use the same account on multiple devices to all WhatsApp users, and the next useful feature it could add is the option to transfer chats between devices without using the Google Drive.
Local chat transfer available for WhatsApp beta version 2.23.9.19
The local chat transfer option was first discovered a few months back, and now, it’s available for some users of the WhatsApp beta app. While the Google Drive backup and restore option will likely continue to exist, local transfer of chats should come as a boon to many users (especially for us here at SamMobile where transfering a WhatsApp account to a different review device every few weeks can be a major inconvenience).
Similar to how WhatsApp can be added on multiple devices, transfering chats between two devices starts with the scanning of a QR code. The transfer likely happens over Wi-Fi Direct, which can be pretty fast, although this hasn’t been confirmed. It’s also unclear if both chat messages and all your media are transfered or if it just messages. We’re assuming it’s the former, as otherwise the feature doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Local chat transfer is available on WhatsApp beta version 2.23.9.19 and can be accessed from the Chats section of the app’s settings. It remains to be seen when the feature will go live for every WhatsApp user. WhatsApp usually takes its sweet time to test new functionality to ensure it works properly, so we could be waiting a while.
