Lost chat. No backup.
Lost your WhatsApp chat? We may still be able to help.
The chat you lost had someone on the other side. They may still have their copy, even if yours has disappeared.
Ask them to export their copy from WhatsApp and send you the file. Then open it on your iPhone with Chat Archive.
Chat Archive brings the included messages and media back as a conversation you can browse and search, with included voice messages in context — outside WhatsApp.
Your recovered chat in Chat Archive
Ready to bring the chat back?
Import is free. For iPhone with iOS 18 or later.
Here is how
Bring the chat back in two steps
If the other person — or someone in the group — still has the conversation, their copy can become your recovered chat in Chat Archive.
- 01
Ask them to send their copy
WhatsApp has a built-in option to export a chat. Ask your contact — or a member of the group — to export their copy with media and send you the file.
- 02
Import it with Chat Archive
Open the file on your iPhone. Chat Archive reproduces the included chat data as a conversation you can browse and search, with included media and voice messages in context.
Their copy becomes a usable chat on your iPhone — not a text file and a folder of disconnected attachments.
The recovered chat lives in Chat Archive. It is not restored inside WhatsApp, and anything missing from the exported file cannot be recreated.
Step 1: get their copy
Ask the person who still has the chat
In a one-to-one chat, the other person may still have the history that disappeared from your phone. Ask them to export their copy and send you the file.
For a group chat, ask a member who still has the conversation. They can export it from iPhone or Android and send the file to you.
If the chat is still on one of your old phones, you can export that copy yourself. Do not reset the phone, uninstall WhatsApp, or change its data first.
Ask for an export with media when photos, videos, or voice messages matter. A copy may contain only part of the history, and Chat Archive can show only what WhatsApp includes in the exported file.
The person sending the file does not need Chat Archive. WhatsApp creates the exported file; they send it to you; you bring the chat back on your iPhone with Chat Archive.
A ready-made message
Ask someone who still has the chat
Send this to the person who may still have your missing conversation.
Hi — I lost our WhatsApp chat and do not have a usable backup. Could you check whether you still have it? If you do, would you export the chat from WhatsApp with media and send me the file? Thank you — this conversation matters to me.
They only need to export the chat from WhatsApp and send you the file it creates. They do not need Chat Archive.
Ask only when sharing the conversation is appropriate. The ZIP may contain private messages and media, so store it somewhere you trust.
Step 2: bring it back to your iPhone
Import the file with Chat Archive
Chat Archive opens ZIP files created by WhatsApp's chat-export workflow. The ZIP contains the exported messages and may contain media and files when WhatsApp includes them.
The ZIP cannot be imported back into WhatsApp. Chat Archive turns it into an archive you can use outside WhatsApp.
Open the ZIP in Chat Archive. The app reproduces the included chat data as a conversation, with messages in order, dates, participants, and available media in context.
Browse the chat, search for important details, see included media, play voice messages, and preview a PDF.
Chat Archive does not scan your phone, access your WhatsApp account, read a backup, or recreate anything missing from the ZIP. It organizes only the content in the file you choose.
Your chat, useful again
Everything you need to bring the chat data back to life
Read and search the conversation
Read exported messages in order, search for words and phrases, and jump to dates instead of scrolling through the entire history.
See included media in context
Review the photos, videos, documents, audio, and voice messages included in the export where they appeared in the conversation.
Listen to and transcribe voice messages
Play included audio and, with your permission, transcribe it on your device when on-device transcription supports your iPhone and language.
Preview the complete PDF
Generate and review the full PDF inside the app before deciding whether to save, share, or print it.
Media availability and previews depend on the formats and content WhatsApp included in the exported file.
Imported conversation content is processed locally on your iPhone.
Prove it with your own file
Check the real archive before you pay
Import is free, so you can confirm that Chat Archive recognizes and organizes the conversation before you decide.
Check it for free
- Import the WhatsApp ZIP
- Read a 25-message preview
- Review search results and available media thumbnails
- Play included voice messages and transcribe them when supported
- Review the complete PDF preview
Unlock full access
- Read the entire conversation
- Open search results in the full conversation context
- View included photos and videos full screen
- Save, share, or print the PDF
- Share the original ZIP when it is available
If you want it back inside WhatsApp
Check whether an official restore is still possible
WhatsApp may have saved a copy of your chats in the cloud. On iPhone, backups are stored in iCloud. On Android, they may be linked to your Google Account.
Open WhatsApp and look for Chat Backup under Chats in Settings. Check the date and time of the latest backup before you change anything.
Do not create a new backup yet. First, check whether the existing backup was made after the messages you want to recover and before they disappeared from your phone.
If the backup appears to contain the missing chats, follow WhatsApp's official instructions to restore it. Read the full procedure before reinstalling the app, because restoring a backup may replace the chat history currently on your phone.
Another official option
Try WhatsApp's device-transfer tools
If an old phone still has the chats and you want them back inside WhatsApp, you may be able to transfer them directly to the new phone.
Export any irreplaceable chat first so you retain a separate copy before attempting a transfer.
Do not erase or reset the old phone, or uninstall WhatsApp from it, until the transfer is complete and you have confirmed that the chats appear correctly on the new phone.
Transfer between phones with the same operating system
WhatsApp can transfer chat history directly between two iPhones or between two Android phones. The process uses both devices and may ask you to scan a QR code displayed on the new phone.
Transfer between iPhone and Android
The process is different when your old and new phones use different operating systems. Some steps must be completed while setting up the new phone, so read the full guide before you begin.
Their copy. Your chat again.
Bring your chat back to life on your iPhone
Ask the person who still has the conversation to export it, then import the file with Chat Archive.
Check a 25-message preview, search results, and available media thumbnails from your real file for free before deciding about full access.
For iPhone with iOS 18 or later. Requires a ZIP file exported from WhatsApp.