Telegram Now Allows You To Import Your Chat History From WhatsApp and More

Telegram has just added a feature allowing users to import their chat history – videos and documents included – over from other instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Line, and KakaoTalk. The messaging app has been a key beneficiary of a recent exodus of users from WhatsApp over privacy worries. Telegram’s latest update also includes even more deletion power for users concerned about leaving an electronic trail.

The act of importing is as simple as pie:

On iOS, you should go to the Contact Info or Group Info page in WhatsApp, select Export Chat, and then Telegram in the Share menu. You can also export chats directly from the chat list by swiping left on a chat, choosing ‘…’ and then Export Chat.

If you’re on Android, open a WhatsApp chat, tap on the three vertical dots, then More, then Export Chat, and then Telegram in the Share menu.

Telegram added that messages will be imported into the current day, but will also come with their original timestamps. Also, the imported messages will be visible to all members of the chat on Telegram.

Of course, Telegram’s most celebrated feature is the privacy it provides, famously allowing users to permanently delete messages they send and receive for both sides. This new update also allows you to delete secret chats, groups you created, and your call history for all sides at any time.

Telegram has been on an upswing ever since rival WhatsApp aroused widespread anger over its sharing of user data with parent company Facebook. As people flocked to Telegram and Signal (another messaging app), WhatsApp delayed a controversial update to its privacy policy.