WhatsApp introduces new QR-code-based local data transfer method

WhatsApp have a new and quicker to transfer chat from your old phone to a new phone through a QR-code-based method.

The company said that users migrating to another phone with the same operating system will be able to transfer WhatsApp data using a local Wi-Fi connection.

To transfer your chat history, make sure both devices are turned on and connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

• Then, open WhatsApp on the old device and go to Settings > Chats > Chat transfer.
• On completion of this step, you will see a QR code.
• Scan the QR code from the new phone to complete the transfer process.

The company said this method is more secure than third-party solutions as the data is encrypted and only shared between the two devices over your local network.

Until now, WhatsApp relied on cloud backups to transfer data from one device to another device that runs the same operating system — iOS or Android. This is the first time the company is introducing a local transfer method for such migration.

WhatsApp already supports iOS to Android and Android to iOS migration. However, both methods are slightly more complicated than scanning a QR code.

The chat app also has a multi-device feature for a single account. This way, you can sync messages sent and received with a single phone number on various devices. In April, the company updated the feature to support multiple phones.