How to export a WhatsApp chat as evidence
Open the chat, tap Export Chat (iPhone) or More, Export chat (Android), save the file, then keep the original zip unchanged and note its SHA-256 hash value. WhatsApp exports roughly the latest 10,000 messages with media or 40,000 without.
Export on an iPhone
- Open the chat. In WhatsApp, open the individual or group chat.
- Tap the name at the top. Tap the contact or group name to open its info screen.
- Tap Export Chat. Scroll down and tap Export Chat.
- Choose Attach Media or Without Media. Attach Media includes photos, voice notes and files but exports fewer messages.
- Save the file. In the share sheet, choose Save to Files, Mail or another app. Save it somewhere you control, such as iCloud Drive.
Export on Android
- Open the chat. In WhatsApp, open the individual or group chat.
- Open the menu. Tap the three dots, then More, then Export chat.
- Choose Without media or Include media. Include media exports fewer messages.
- Save the file. Pick Drive, Gmail, Files or another destination. Copy the original off the phone to a computer or your cloud storage.
Menus change between WhatsApp versions. WhatsApp's help centre has the current steps for each phone.
Limits
| Option | About how many messages |
|---|---|
| Export with media | The latest 10,000 |
| Export without media | The latest 40,000 |
If your dispute goes back further, export in more than one go (for example without media for the text, then with media for the recent period) and keep each file. WhatsApp's export on the phone cannot reach past these limits, so a long history may be incomplete.
Keep the original zip and its hash value
- Do not open and re-save. Saving the zip again, unzipping and re-zipping, or editing
_chat.txtchanges the bytes. Keep the file exactly as WhatsApp created it. - Record its SHA-256 hash. On a Mac,
shasum -a 256 filename.zipin Terminal prints it; on Windows,Get-FileHash filename.zipin PowerShell. Saboot calculates and stores a SHA-256 for every file you add. - Store a second copy in cloud storage or on a drive, and write down the date, which phone, and whose number or group the chat is with.
- Work on copies. Read, search and print from copies so the original stays as it was.
The hash does not prove that the messages are genuine or complete. It shows that the file you produce later is the same as the file you saved. In India a certificate under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 may be needed when you produce electronic records; see the Section 63 BSA certificate explained.
Why screenshots alone are weaker
- A screenshot is an image. It can be cropped, edited or composed, and it carries no record of the other messages around it.
- It has no linked media, no complete message list and no stable file you can hash against an original.
- The other side can say a message is missing. An export with a hash value shows what the phone produced at one moment.
Take screenshots too, they are quick and easy to read. Treat the export as the primary record and the screenshots as a supporting view.
Longer chats: Saboot for Mac
For a chat longer than the phone export allows, Saboot for Mac is coming soon. It will be a free download that reads a full WhatsApp history from an iPhone backup you already have on your Mac and produces a chat file for the Saboot case. It is not published yet, and this page will be updated when it is.
Also useful
For the complaint itself, see how to file a consumer complaint in India.