Do you want to switch from WhatsApp to Telegram and need to move all your chats and files? We’ve got you covered. In this article, we will show you how to move WhatsApp Chats to Telegram step by step.
WhatsApp has been the most popular social media platform for many years. Most of us have been using this popular messaging service for quite a long time now. However, following the recent announcement of changes to their privacy policies, many users have decided to switch from WhatsApp to Telegram.
The thing is, after using WhatsApp for several years, we likely have many chats and files we want to keep, even if we switch to Telegram. That’s why in this guide, we will show you how to safely move your WhatsApp chats to Telegram.
Before we dive into that, let’s better understand why users are moving to Telegram in large numbers.
Table of contents
Why users are Moving from WhatsApp to Telegram?
With more than 2 billion users, WhatsApp has been the most popular messaging app for several years for both individual users and businesses.
People’s trust in WhatsApp is mainly due to the service’s primary focus on user privacy. WhatsApp introduced features such as end-to-end encryption to ensure the confidentiality of users’ data. This means that no third party, including WhatsApp, can access your private chats and calls.
However, earlier this year, WhatsApp drifted away from its privacy-driven approach when it updated its privacy policy. The change means that WhatsApp may now share some of its users’ data with its parent company, Facebook.
This means that WhatsApp may share your account information (phone number, profile picture, and so on), transactional data, service-related information, mobile device information, IP address, and more data with the Facebook family of companies.
However, WhatsApp claims that the data collected is used to enhance customer experience, fight off spam and abuse, make product suggestions, and show relevant ads.
Even though WhatsApp has emphasized that personal chats are still end-to-end encrypted and that no one, including WhatsApp and Facebook, can access them, the new privacy policy was met with criticism from users worried about the security of their data on WhatsApp.
Telegram, the favorite alternative
In the meantime, Telegram rose to the occasion as a more secure alternative. Telegram claims it takes user privacy seriously and doesn’t share any data with third parties. In other words, Telegram ensured its users that their data is safe.
Telegram’s guarantee of user privacy immediately caught the attention of people around the world. Since then, millions of users have started flocking to Telegram. Today, an estimated 500 million people are using Telegram.
Besides secure communication, Telegram offers exciting features such as automated bots, broadcasting channels with unlimited users, media compression, and more.
Feature Comparison: Telegram vs WhatsApp
Let’s have a quick look at the feature comparison between the two social messaging services that will help us understand why many users are switching from WhatsApp to Telegram.
1) Cloud Storage
Telegram saves all your data, including chats, photos, and videos, on the cloud. Therefore, you don’t need to worry about backing up and restoring if you decide to uninstall the app. WhatsApp, on the other hand, does not have cloud storage, so you need to manually back up your data and restore it each time you reinstall the app.
2) Channels & Bots
The standout features of Telegram are broadcasting channels and automated bots. You can send your messages to an unlimited audience using Telegram channels as well as create automated bots that can serve different functions.
WhatsApp, sadly, does not have any channel or bot functionality.
3) Multiple Platform Support
Both apps support multiple platforms, including Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and a web version. The difference between the two services lies in their desktop and web versions.
Telegram’s desktop and web apps let users sign in with their username or phone number, and that’s it. With WhatsApp, however, you need to scan a QR code to log in to the respective web or desktop application. Moreover, your phone must be connected to the same network; otherwise, the app won’t work.
4) Username Support
WhatsApp lets users connect with others only one way: via phone numbers. Telegram, on the other hand, allows users to connect either via a username or phone number. This can be handy because you won’t need to share your phone number with everyone you want to communicate with.
5) Groups
On Telegram, you can add up to 200,000 members to a single group, whereas on WhatsApp you are limited to 256 members per group.
6) File Size Limit
WhatsApp lets its users upload and forward media files up to 16MB. For documents, the file size limit is 100MB. On the other hand, Telegram allows file sharing of up to 2GB.
7) End-to-End Encryption and Secret chats
While WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption for all chats, Telegram disables it by default. Instead, Telegram provides users with a secret chats feature that is end-to-end encrypted. Additionally, you can also set a self-destruct timer for a secret chat. WhatsApp offers a similar option called disappearing messages.
Now that we better understand why people are switching from WhatsApp to Telegram and the main differences between both platforms, let’s see how to move your WhatsApp chats to Telegram.
How to Move WhatsApp Chats to Telegram
Moving WhatsApp chats to Telegram is simple. If you follow all the steps in order, you will be good to go in no time. There are two types of chats that you can transfer:
- Individual chats
- Group chats
Let’s have a look at the process for both.
NOTE: Before you start, make sure you have both WhatsApp and Telegram installed on your mobile device.
1) Move Individual WhatsApp Chats to Telegram
1) Open your WhatsApp account and select the chat you want to export. In the top-right corner, press the three dots icon, select More, and then Export chat. You will get a prompt asking whether you want to include the media files.
2) After that, a share screen will pop up where you will have to select the Telegram app from the list. This will open up the Telegram app on your device.
3) On Telegram, select the corresponding contact whose chats you want to import. You can also search for your contacts using the top search bar.
4) Once you have selected the contacts, a pop-up will appear. Just press Import, and the process will start.
You can track the import process using the progress bar.
Once the import finishes, you will see your WhatsApp Chats in Telegram. Congratulations! You have now successfully moved an individual WhatsApp chat.
Now, let’s see how to move WhatsApp group chats to Telegram.
2) Move WhatsApp Group Chats to Telegram
The process to transfer WhatsApp group chats to Telegram is similar to exporting individual chats but has a few differences. Let’s have a look.
1) Open your desired WhatsApp group chat, press the three dots icon on the top right, select More, and then hit Export Chat. Next, confirm whether you want to include the media files as you did when exporting individual chats.
2) On the share screen, select the Telegram app from the list, and it will take you to the Telegram app.
3) On Telegram, select the desired group where you want to import the chat. Alternatively, you can create a new group here.
4) After that, a pop-up will appear. Just press Import, and the process will start automatically. Depending on the size of the chat, it may take some time to import the entire chat, so be patient. You can track the progress via a progress bar
After the import finishes, go to the Telegram group you selected, and you will see all your WhatsApp Chats.
There you go! You have now learned how to move both your individual and group WhatsApp chats to Telegram.
Bonus: Integrate Telegram with your WordPress website
If you are a business owner and want to improve your customer experience, this tip will benefit you greatly. Since you have already learned how to export your WhatsApp chats to Telegram, you should also consider integrating Telegram with your WordPress website.
The easiest solution to integrate Telegram with your site is to use a plugin. For this demo, we will use the Telegram Chat plugin. This free tool adds a Live Telegram button to your site, enabling your visitors to interact with you and contact you via Telegram.
First, download and install the QuadLayers Telegram Chat plugin via your WordPress admin dashboard or the WordPress repository. Alternatively, you can also follow this link.
After activating it, go to the plugin settings in the admin dashboard and configure the plugin as per your requirements. The plugin is highly customizable, allowing you to adjust the chatbox’s appearance to match the overall website’s look and feel.
Moreover, you can add multiple team members, set a welcome message, customize the button text, and more.
Coming to the overall features, some highlighting functionalities of the plugin include WPML compatibility and GDPR compliance. You can also target specific pages by displaying the button only on those pages. Additionally, you can make the button visible only during the hours that your team works.
Troubleshooting
Even with the proper steps, some users may encounter issues when moving WhatsApp chats to Telegram. Here are common problems and their solutions:
- Missing “Move Chat to Telegram” option: Ensure both WhatsApp and Telegram are up to date with versions that support chat export and import.
- Extensive chat history fails to import: Break down the chat into smaller sections or exclude media to reduce file size.
- Media not showing in Telegram: Verify that you included media during export and that Telegram has storage permissions.
- Permission errors on mobile: Check that both apps have the required permissions to access storage and files.
- Partial transfers or missing messages: Ensure the device has sufficient free storage and a stable connection during the transfer.
- Repeated import failures: Restart your device and try the process again, ensuring no other apps are interfering.
Tips and Best Practices
Following a few simple tips ensures your WhatsApp chat transfer to Telegram goes smoothly and minimizes potential issues.
- Keep both apps updated: Ensure you have the latest versions of WhatsApp and Telegram installed to access the export/import feature.
- Export chats in manageable sizes: Very long chat histories may fail during transfer; consider exporting smaller sections if needed.
- Decide whether to include media: Exporting media increases file size and can slow down the process; skip media if storage is limited.
- Backup your WhatsApp data first: Always keep a backup in case something goes wrong during the transfer.
- Disable notifications temporarily: Prevent spam notifications from imported chats in Telegram.
- Check permissions: Ensure Telegram has storage and file access permissions to import chats successfully.
Frequently Asked Questions
Now, let’s see some of the frequently asked questions and answers regarding the topic.
No. WhatsApp does not support bulk export, so each chat or group must be moved individually. This ensures Telegram can correctly process the exported files, but it also means the process can take time if you have many conversations.
Yes, as long as you choose the “Include Media” option when exporting. Media-heavy chats may take longer to import and can occasionally fail if the file size is too large, so it helps to keep storage space available on your device.
Most text messages preserve the original date and time during import. However, certain media items, forwarded messages, or unsupported elements may show the import date instead due to formatting limitations between the two apps.
No. Only messages in the exported chat file will be imported. Anything deleted in WhatsApp before export is permanently removed and cannot be restored through Telegram.
No. Only the chat history is imported. You must add members manually in Telegram since the import tool does not automatically sync group participants between platforms.
Yes. Both operating systems support exporting chats to Telegram, but the wording of menu options and file selection screens may differ slightly. The final result is the same on both platforms.
This usually happens if Telegram is outdated, the exported file is corrupted, or the app does not have proper storage permissions. Updating Telegram, enabling file access, or re-exporting the chat often resolves the issue.
Conclusion
All in all, WhatsApp’s changes to its privacy policy haven’t been well-received by users. Making the most of the situation, Telegram rose to the occasion and has quickly become the favorite messaging service of more than 500 million users.
People seem to love it for its strict privacy principles while also providing a feature-rich experience. The current trends also prove that users take their privacy seriously and are willing to leave services that don’t respect that.
In this article, we have learned about:
- WhatsApp’s new privacy policy
- What data WhatsApp is going to share with Facebook, and the implications it has for users
- Why users are switching to Telegram in large numbers
- Feature comparison between Telegram and WhatsApp
- How to move WhatsApp individual and group chats to Telegram along with media files
- How to Integrate Telegram with WordPress using the Telegram Chat plugin
If you’re still using WhatsApp as your main messaging service, have a look at the following guides:
Have you made up your mind to move to Telegram? Do you also want to export your WhatsApp chats to Telegram? Try out the methods explained in the article and tell us about your experience in the comments section below!