Question 1

How do I export a WhatsApp chat?

Accepted Answer

Open the chat in WhatsApp, open the menu (⋮ on Android, the contact or group name on iPhone) and choose Export chat. Pick Include media for photos and voice notes, or Without media for text only, then save the file and upload it to ChatToDocument. Our step-by-step guides cover iPhone, Android and desktop.

Question 2

Which files can I upload?

Accepted Answer

WhatsApp: the .zip or .txt from Export chat (Android, iPhone, Desktop and Business). Messenger and Instagram: message_1.json files or the full “Download your information” ZIP in JSON format. Telegram: result.json or messages.html from Telegram Desktop’s Export chat history (or the folder as a ZIP). Signal: chat.md from signal-export or a sigtop .txt (or the folder as a ZIP).

Question 3

Does it work with Instagram, Telegram and Signal?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Upload an Instagram “Download your information” file, a Telegram Desktop export (JSON or HTML) or a Signal Desktop export made with signal-export or sigtop. Each chat is shown — and exported to PDF — in the look of the app it came from.

Question 4

How do I export a Signal chat?

Accepted Answer

Signal has no built-in export. Install Signal Desktop, then use the free open-source tool signal-export (or sigtop) to export your conversations, and upload the conversation folder as a ZIP. Our guide walks you through it.

Question 5

Why does my export stop at 10,000 or 40,000 messages?

Accepted Answer

WhatsApp only exports the most recent 10,000 messages when you include media, or 40,000 without media. ChatToDocument detects when a chat has hit this limit and warns you that older messages are missing. Exporting Without media raises the limit to 40,000.

Question 6

What does “<Media omitted>” mean?

Accepted Answer

The chat was exported Without media, so WhatsApp replaced photos, videos and voice notes with a placeholder. Export again and choose Include media to keep them.

Question 7

Do you support group chats and other languages?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Group events (joins, leaves, renames, admins), every date format, 12- and 24-hour clocks, emojis, right-to-left scripts such as Arabic, Urdu and Hebrew, and Indic scripts are all supported.

Question 8

Is my chat private?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Everything you upload travels over an encrypted connection (TLS), is stored privately and is shown only through short-lived signed links. As soon as your document has been emailed to you, the file and the whole chat — messages, photos, voice notes and the original export — are deleted from our servers. Chats you never export are deleted automatically 1 hour after upload, on every plan. You can delete any chat immediately with Delete chat.

Question 9

Can I password-protect my document?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Turn on “Password-protect the file” before you create it (it’s off by default). A PDF is encrypted and asks for the password when opened; every other format arrives in a ZIP encrypted with AES-256. We create a strong password for each document and put it in the email with your file. We don’t keep a copy, so save that email.

Question 10

Can I convert a chat without uploading it?

Accepted Answer

Yes, for the preview. When you drop a chat on our home page it is read entirely inside your browser and never leaves your device. To get a document, you upload it to your account and we email the file to you.

Question 11

Do you use my chats to train AI?

Accepted Answer

No. Your content is never used to train AI models, and it is never sent to outside AI services: Pro’s chat assistant runs on our own servers, and voice notes are transcribed in your own browser.

Question 12

Can ChatToDocument read my chat accounts?

Accepted Answer

No. We never ask for your WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram or Signal login and we never connect to your accounts. You only upload files that you exported yourself.

Question 13

Is there a free plan?

Accepted Answer

You can create a free account and preview any chat before you pay — in your browser or in your account. Documents (PDF, Excel, Word and more) need a Premium or Pro plan. Every file is emailed to you, then the file and the chat are deleted from our servers, so nothing is kept for download.

Question 14

What’s the difference between Premium and Pro?

Accepted Answer

Both are billed once a year — there is no monthly plan. Premium ($19/year) covers 20 chats a year with every format, transcribed voice notes and password-protected documents. Pro ($29/year) covers unlimited chats and adds the chat assistant: a month-by-month summary, “Ask the chat” with answers that link to the messages, extraction of amounts, dates and contacts, and the scam check. Each chat you upload to Premium uses one of its 20 for the year, and the allowance comes back when the plan renews. Payments are handled securely by Paddle, our merchant of record.

Question 15

Can I upgrade from Premium to Pro?

Accepted Answer

Yes, in one click from Plan & billing (or wherever you see “Upgrade to Pro”). You only pay the difference for the rest of your current billing year — the button shows the exact amount — and it’s charged to the card you already used. Your renewal date stays the same.

Question 16

How do I cancel my plan?

Accepted Answer

Open Plan & billing and choose Manage subscription. You can cancel any time; your plan stays active until the end of the year you’ve paid for, and it won’t renew.

Question 17

Can I get a refund?

Accepted Answer

If a conversion fails or the output is not what we promised, contact us within 14 days and we will fix it or refund you. See the refund policy for details.

Question 18

Can I use the PDF as evidence in court?

Accepted Answer

Many people use ChatToDocument documents to present chats to lawyers, courts, employers and platforms. The transcript PDF adds line numbers and a cover page with the chat’s details, and the Full ZIP package adds SHA-256 fingerprints of every file, adds a manifest, a custody log and your original export. Whether evidence is admissible is always decided by the court, and ChatToDocument is not legal advice.

Question 19

What is a SHA-256 hash?

Accepted Answer

A digital fingerprint of a file. If even one character in the file changes, the hash changes, so anyone can check that a file is identical to the one you generated.

Question 20

Is ChatToDocument affiliated with WhatsApp, Meta, Telegram or Signal?

Accepted Answer

No. ChatToDocument is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by WhatsApp LLC, Meta Platforms, Inc., Telegram or the Signal Technology Foundation.

Question 21

Can I upload someone else’s chat?

Accepted Answer

Only upload chats you took part in or are lawfully entitled to process. Using ChatToDocument to access, monitor or stalk other people is prohibited by our Acceptable Use Policy.

Frequently asked questions