How to Keep a WhatsApp Chat Forever (Outside WhatsApp) on iPhone

Chats can disappear with a lost phone, a reinstall or a deleted account. Keep a copy that lives outside WhatsApp.

Steps

1. Open WhatsApp on your iPhone and open the chat you want to keep.
2. Tap the contact or group name at the top of the chat.
3. Scroll down and tap Export Chat, then choose Without Media.
4. In the share sheet, pick ChatExport (tap More if you don't see it).
5. Pick Text and save it to Files or iCloud Drive (or pick PDF and save from the print screen). The copy stays even if WhatsApp doesn't.

Why not just use WhatsApp's export?

WhatsApp's Export Chat gives you a raw .txt file (or a .zip) that's hard to read and can't be printed nicely. ChatExport turns it into a clean PDF or text file with dates, names and messages laid out properly.

Is it private?

Yes. The conversion runs on your iPhone. Your messages are not uploaded to our servers.

What does it cost?

One purchase on the App Store. No subscription, no in-app unlocks.

ChatExport is not affiliated with WhatsApp. WhatsApp is a trademark of WhatsApp LLC. More guides · Privacy