Where is my WhatsApp export saved on iPhone or Android?
WhatsApp keeps no copy of an exported chat: the file is only where you sent it. Where to look on iPhone and Android, and what to do if it is gone.
· 8 min read
WhatsApp does not keep a copy of an exported chat. When you tap Export chat, it makes the file and hands it to whatever you pick in the share sheet: a folder in Files, an email, Google Drive, a message. The file is only there, so the place to look is the app you chose. On WhatsApp Web, the export is a browser download.
If you don't remember which one, search for “WhatsApp Chat” in the places below. If it isn't anywhere, export the chat again. That is often quicker than searching.
Why WhatsApp has no exports folder
An export is not stored inside WhatsApp. You won't find it in the chat, in the settings or among WhatsApp's own media files. WhatsApp's help pages give examples of where it can go: Message, Save to Files or Notes on iPhone, and Quick Share or Gmail on Android. Whatever you tapped decided where the file went.
A chat backup is a different thing. The backup under Settings > Chats > Chat backup is for restoring WhatsApp on a phone. It is not the export file, so looking through your backups won't turn it up.
What the file looks like:
- The name starts with WhatsApp Chat. On Android it is usually “WhatsApp Chat with” followed by the chat's name, such as “WhatsApp Chat with Kemal Kitchens”.
- WhatsApp's help pages say an iPhone export is a ZIP file, and so is an export from WhatsApp Web. On Android you get a .zip if you included media, or a .txt without media.
- If the .zip was already opened, the messages are in a file called
_chat.txt(iPhone) or in a .txt named after the chat (Android).
Where to look on iPhone
Think back to the icon you tapped in the share sheet, then check the matching place.
| You tapped | Where the file is |
|---|---|
| Save to Files | The Files app, in the folder you picked, in iCloud Drive or On My iPhone |
| The Sent mailbox of the account you used, as an attachment | |
| Messages | The conversation you sent it to |
| Notes | Attached to a note, among your recent notes |
| AirDrop | The device you sent it to. On a Mac, the Downloads folder |
| Drive, Dropbox or another app | Inside that app, in the folder you chose |
Files. Open the Files app and search for “WhatsApp Chat”. If nothing turns up, open iCloud Drive and On My iPhone in turn and look through the folders you use most. A file saved to iCloud Drive also shows up on your other Apple devices and at iCloud.com, so you can look from a computer too.
Mail. Search Mail for “WhatsApp Chat”, or open the Sent mailbox of the account you used. An email that never left waits in the Outbox. For big files, Mail may have offered Mail Drop, which Apple says handles attachments up to 5 GB. In that case the email holds a download link rather than the file.
Messages and Notes. Open the conversation or the note and scroll back to the day you exported. If you sent it to a friend, they have a copy too.
Where to look on Android
Android phones show different apps in the share sheet, but most exports end up in one of these places.
- Google Drive. Open Drive and search for “WhatsApp Chat”. The file is in My Drive unless you picked a folder.
- Gmail. Open Sent and search for “WhatsApp Chat”. Google's help pages say personal Gmail accounts can send up to 25 MB of attachments, and that bigger files are added as a Google Drive link instead. So a large export you emailed is probably in your Drive as well.
- Downloads. Some phones offer Save as file in the share sheet, which puts the file in Downloads. Open your file manager (Files by Google, or My Files on Samsung) and look there.
- Quick Share. The file went to the phone or computer you picked. Look in that device's Downloads folder first.
- Another chat or email app. Open the conversation, or the sent folder, in that app.
If you still can't find it, open your file manager, search the whole phone for “WhatsApp Chat”, and sort the results by date.
Where to look on a computer
WhatsApp Web and the Windows app can export a chat too. You open the chat menu, click Export chat, choose All messages or Custom date range, and click Export. The .zip lands in your Downloads folder; on Web it is a browser download, so your browser's list of downloads shows it too. The Mac app asks where to send the file, like an iPhone.
A Web export holds the messages only. WhatsApp's help pages say media isn't included, unlike an export from your phone, so there are no voice messages in it. View once and disappearing messages are left out as well.
Search tips that work everywhere
- Start with “WhatsApp Chat”. Then try the person's or the group's name, which is part of the file name on Android.
- Try the file type. Search “.zip”, or
_chat.txtif the file was already opened. - Use the date. Sort by date and look around the day you exported.
- Check the size. An export with media holds the photos and voice messages, so it is much bigger than a text-only one. If you need the voice messages, you want the big file.
A made-up example: Marta exported her chat with Kemal, who fitted her kitchen, in March. She wanted to keep his quote and the photos of the work. In October a cupboard door breaks, and she can't remember what she tapped. Her file manager finds nothing called “WhatsApp Chat”. Gmail does: an email to herself from March 14. The file was too big to attach, so the email holds a Drive link to “WhatsApp Chat with Kemal Kitchens”, and the file itself is in her Drive. It took her five minutes to find.
You closed the share panel: export again
If you swiped the share sheet away, or the app you picked failed, no file was saved anywhere. There is no hidden copy to recover. The fix is to export again, and WhatsApp's help pages say you can export a copy of your chat history at any time.
This time, pick a place you will find later:
- Open the chat and start the export. The export guide has the steps for iPhone and Android.
- Include media if you need voice messages, photos or files. Without media is enough for the text.
- On iPhone, tap Save to Files and choose a folder you will recognize, such as a new one called “WhatsApp exports”. On Android, choose Drive or your file manager.
- Open Files or Drive and check that the file is there before you move on.
A new export shows the chat as it is today. Messages that have since vanished through disappearing messages are not in it. Very long chats can also come out shorter than expected: older versions of WhatsApp's help pages gave a limit of 10,000 recent messages with media and 40,000 without. What fits in a WhatsApp export covers that in detail.
Email is the weakest choice for a big chat because of attachment limits. If the export keeps failing, see what to do when Export chat isn't working.
Once you have found it
- Read it as it is. A .txt opens in any text editor. Opening a WhatsApp .txt file explains how, on a phone and on a computer.
- Turn it into a PDF, free. The free chat viewer opens the export in your browser, with nothing uploaded. It opens a print view with page numbers and the chat name on each page, which you save as a PDF. It also gives you TXT, CSV and HTML versions. WhatsApp chat to PDF shows what the pages look like.
- Get the voice messages as text. This needs an export from your phone with media. Choose the .zip on the upload page. LogMyChat starts with a free overview, with no upload: who writes, how much, the number of voice messages and their minutes, one voice message transcribed free, and the exact price.
In LogMyChat, the photos, videos and documents inside the export never leave your phone, at any step. Once you have the file, move it somewhere you will look first next time, such as a folder in iCloud Drive or Google Drive.
Common questions
Does WhatsApp keep a copy of my exported chat?
No. The chat stays in WhatsApp as before, but the export file exists only where you sent it. If you deleted that email or file, export the chat again.
Can I export on a computer instead?
Yes. On WhatsApp Web or the Windows app, the export is a .zip in your Downloads folder, with the messages but no media, so no voice messages. The Mac app can include media. If you need the voice messages, export on your phone with media, then reach the file on the computer through iCloud Drive, Google Drive or email.
Why isn't the file in my Downloads folder?
It only lands in Downloads if you exported on WhatsApp Web, chose Save as file or your file manager, or downloaded it later from an email or Drive. Otherwise it is inside the app you picked.
I found two exports of the same chat. Which should I use?
Use the newer one, since it has the latest messages. If you need the voice messages, pick the one exported with media. It is the bigger file, and it holds the audio itself, not just “audio omitted”.