WhatsApp update: App finally launches new way to transfer chat history, fixing major security issue

Until now, people getting new phones may have been taken in by unofficial and potentially dangerous third-party apps

(AFP via Getty Images)

WhatsApp has finally launched a private and fast way for people to transfer their chats to a new device.

The change fixes one of the biggest privacy issues with using the app. Until now, it has been difficult to move chats between devices – such as when getting a new phone – and so users may have been taken in by unofficial and potentially dangerous third-party apps offering a way to do so.

Now users can keep their complete chat and media history as they move it between phones, without the need to exit the app.

WhatsApp said the feature was intended to be “more secure than using unofficial third party apps which lack clear privacy practices, and more private than cloud services”. It is also meant to be faster than backing up the whole chat history, and also means that big files that would usually be left out of such a backup will be kept around.

The system means that two devices can be put closely, checked with a QR code and then have their data shared between two devices on the same operating system. The tool is fully encrypted, meaning that there should be no way for that data to be stolen as it moves between the phones.

To use the new tool, the two devices must be in the same physical location, connected to WiFi and with location settings on. It is then activated by clicking through to the Settings on the old phone, choosing “chats” and then “chat transfer”, which will bring up a QR code that can be scanned with the new phone.

All of the data should then be moved from the old phone onto the new one, without the need to back it up or use third-party tools.

The change is one of a range of recent features introduced by WhatsApp, as it aims to make privacy and security a central part of its offering. Recently it added a new feature aimed at blocking “spam and scam” calls, for instance, along with other privacy changes.