How to export a WhatsApp chat to PDF on Android
WhatsApp cannot create a PDF by itself — it only exports a plain .txt file. To get a PDF you do two things: export the chat from WhatsApp (chat → ⋮ menu → More → Export chat), then open that exported file in an app that formats it as a PDF. Conversion time depends on the size of your chat and your device.
Step 1 — Export the chat out of WhatsApp
Open the conversation you want. Tap the ⋮ menu in the top right, choose More, then Export chat.
WhatsApp will ask whether to include media:
- Without media — produces a single
.txtfile. Small, fast, and enough if you only need the words. - Include media — produces a
.zipcontaining the text plus the photos, voice notes and videos. Much larger, and WhatsApp caps how many items it will include.
Choose where to save it. Saving to your device is simplest; if you email it to yourself you can pick it up on another device later.
What the exported file actually looks like
The .txt is one message per line, roughly like this:
14/03/2026, 09:42 - Anita Sharma: Can you send the receipt?
That is functional but hard to read in bulk, impossible to cite by page, and it looks nothing like a document you would hand to anyone.
Step 2 — Turn the exported file into a PDF
Open the .txt or .zip in a chat-to-PDF app. Chat Exporter reads the file on your phone and produces a formatted PDF with a timestamp on every message, the sender's name, numbered pages, and a header listing the participants. You can filter by date range first if you only need part of the conversation.
Because the app has no server, the file is never uploaded anywhere — the whole thing works with the phone in airplane mode.
Use the free browser converter instead
On a computer, open the free WhatsApp chat to PDF converter. Try its fictional sample, then choose your own exported .txt file. Review the date format and the first and last messages, select a date range if needed, and choose Save as PDF in your browser’s print dialog. The browser tool handles text only; photos in PDFs are an optional Pro feature in the Android app.
Doing it manually instead
If you would rather not install anything: email the .txt to yourself, open it in a word processor on a computer, set the font to something monospaced so the timestamps line up, add page numbers, and print to PDF. This works fine for a short chat. For anything over a few hundred messages it becomes tedious, and you will not get a participant header or a date filter.
Limits worth knowing before you start
- WhatsApp limits export size. There is a cap on how many messages it will export in one go, and it is much lower when media is included. A date filter in a converter only selects messages already in the exported file; it cannot bypass WhatsApp’s limit or recover omitted history.
- Deleted messages do not come back. The export contains what is in the chat now. Deleted content is not recovered; a deletion notice may remain, depending on how the message was removed.
- Disappearing messages are not included once they have expired.
- Media appears as filenames in the text file. You need the "Include media" export for the actual images.
If the PDF shows boxes instead of your language
Some converters do not embed fonts for non-Latin scripts, so Hindi, Arabic, Cyrillic, Georgian or emoji render as empty boxes or question marks. If that happens, the tool is at fault, not your file — use one that embeds full Unicode fonts and re-export the same file.
Check your export before you save it
- Missing older messages: check the original .txt file first. A converter cannot restore messages WhatsApp did not export.
- Day and month reversed: dates such as 03/04/2026 are ambiguous. Confirm the date format against a message you recognise.
- Photos absent: a text-only export contains media notices, not image files. Keep the media export and use Pro if you want supported photos inside the Android PDF.
For WhatsApp’s current export instructions, see the official WhatsApp Help Center. Menu wording and available history can vary.
Common questions
Can WhatsApp export directly to PDF?
No. WhatsApp's built-in export produces a plain .txt file, or a .zip if you include media. Converting that to a formatted PDF is a separate step.
Where does the exported file go?
Wherever you chose in the share sheet — usually your Downloads folder, Google Drive, or an email to yourself. If you cannot find it, check Downloads first.
Can I export just one month of a chat?
WhatsApp exports the available history up to its export limit. A converter can filter a month only if those messages are present in that exported file.