Read a raw export as a conversation
See chronological message bubbles, sender names, timestamps, system messages and date breaks instead of parsing lines in a plain .txt file.
Private WhatsApp Viewer for exported chats
WhatsApp Viewer for exported chats
Open an exported conversation in a clean, familiar chat view. This WhatsApp Chat Viewer turns a WhatsApp .txt or .zip export into readable message bubbles, then lets you search the text, filter by sender or message type, jump to a date and choose whose side of the conversation you want to view.
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What is a WhatsApp Viewer?
A WhatsApp Viewer is a browser-based way to read an exported WhatsApp conversation without scrolling through a raw text file. MyChatWrap parses a .txt export—or the chat file inside a .zip—and rebuilds the chronology with message bubbles, timestamps and date breaks. You can search and filter the imported messages. It is an export viewer, not WhatsApp Web, an encrypted backup reader or a deleted-message recovery tool.
See the WhatsApp Viewer before you import
This fictional conversation uses the same WhatsApp-style message-bubble component as the Messages page. Your own viewer is built from the participants, dates, text and recognizable attachment records in your export.
Product preview
Fictional exampleSearch messages…
All message types
Everyone
18 June 2025
Person A
Should we meet at the station at seven?6:31 PM
6:31 PMSeven works. I saved the tickets in our travel folder.6:34 PM
6:34 PMtrain-tickets.pdf
| Viewer control | Example | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Search | travel | Highlights matching message text |
| Sender | Person B | Shows one participant’s messages |
| Message type | Documents | Shows recognized attachment records |
Search inside the chat
Search message text and see the matching words highlighted. A result can link back to that exact message in the full conversation.
Filter by sender and message type
Narrow the viewer to one participant or a recognizable export type such as text, image, video, GIF, voice note, sticker, document, deleted-message marker or system event.
Jump to a date
Move to a specific part of a long conversation by date, then continue reading in chronological context.
Choose your side of the chat
Select which participant should appear as you. Their messages move to the sent side, making one-to-one and group exports easier to follow.
Continue to PDF or statistics
Once the export is imported, use the same parsed conversation for a searchable message view, a transcript PDF and the analytics available elsewhere in the dashboard.
How to view an exported WhatsApp chat
1. Export the chat from WhatsApp
Open the individual or group chat, open its chat information or menu, choose Export chat, and save the result. Export without media for a smaller .txt file or include media to receive a .zip package.
2. Add the TXT or ZIP export
Drop the file above or choose it from your device. MyChatWrap parses the WhatsApp export and takes you directly to the Messages section of the dashboard.
3. Read, search and filter
Choose who appears as you, search for words or phrases, filter by sender or message type, jump to a date, and open matching messages in their original chronological context.
How to export a chat from WhatsApp
Two minutes on your phone. Choose your device, follow the taps, then come back and add the file above.
Watch the whole flow — export from WhatsApp, then drop the file into this app.
Which WhatsApp files can this viewer open?
The WhatsApp Viewer is designed for conversation exports created with WhatsApp's Export chat command. Use the exported .txt file when you only need the transcript, or use the .zip package when you selected Include media. Android and iPhone exports can differ in date, time and system-message formats, so the importer recognizes common variants rather than requiring one rigid layout.
This page does not open an encrypted phone backup, a msgstore database, a .crypt file or a live WhatsApp account. Those formats have different encryption and access requirements. Export the conversation from WhatsApp first, then add that export here.
- Supported input: exported WhatsApp .txt conversation
- Supported package: exported .zip containing the chat text and optional media files
- Not supported: encrypted .crypt backups, msgstore databases or live account syncing
WhatsApp Viewer, WhatsApp Web or backup viewer?
A WhatsApp export viewer is for reading a saved copy of a conversation. WhatsApp Web mirrors a live account and can send or receive messages. A backup viewer attempts to open a device database or encrypted backup. MyChatWrap is the first kind: it reads the export you deliberately select and does not connect to your WhatsApp account.
The viewer cannot put messages back into WhatsApp, change the original chat or contact its participants. That separation makes it useful for reading an archive, finding an old passage, reviewing a group conversation or preparing a transcript for PDF.
- Export viewer: read and search a saved conversation
- WhatsApp Web: use a linked live account
- Backup viewer: inspect a database or encrypted backup
- MyChatWrap does not send messages or restore chats
How search and filters work
Type a word or phrase to find it in message text. Matching terms are highlighted, and filtered results can take you to the exact message in the unfiltered conversation. Combine search with a participant filter when you remember who said something but not when they said it.
The message-type filter relies on what WhatsApp records in the export. It can separate text, images, videos, GIFs, voice notes, stickers, documents, other media, deleted-message markers and system entries. A label proves that the export contained that record; it does not recover content that WhatsApp omitted.
- Search the text contained in the export
- Filter one participant in a one-to-one or group chat
- Filter recognizable text, media, deleted and system records
- Jump from a search result to its chronological position
Media, replies, reactions and deleted messages
When an export contains a recognizable attachment record, the viewer shows its type and available filename. The chat transcript alone may contain only a placeholder; including media in the WhatsApp export is what places available files in the .zip. Whether a particular attachment is present depends on what WhatsApp exported from your device.
Some live-chat details are not fully represented in a WhatsApp text export. Read receipts, complete reaction history, every quoted-reply relationship, disappearing content and truly deleted message bodies may be absent. The viewer displays the evidence in the export; it does not invent or recover missing data.
- Attachment labels and filenames depend on the export
- A deleted-message marker is not the deleted message body
- Read receipts and complete reaction data may be unavailable
- Quoted-reply relationships may be incomplete in exported text
When a WhatsApp Chat Viewer is useful
Use the viewer when a raw text transcript is too difficult to scan. It can help you revisit a personal archive, locate a remembered sentence, review a project or community group, inspect a support conversation you are authorized to use, or select the right period before generating a PDF.
Only import a conversation you are entitled to handle. A chat can contain another person's private information, health details, addresses, workplace material and intimate messages. Searchability makes an archive more useful, but it also makes careful storage and sharing more important.
- Personal chat archives and memory searches
- Authorized project, community or support-chat review
- Finding passages before a transcript export
- Reading long group exports without editing the source file
Troubleshooting an export that will not open
First confirm that the file came from WhatsApp's Export chat action and that the archive still contains the chat .txt file. Do not rename a database backup to .txt or .zip. If a large media export exceeds the 50 MB upload limit, export without media and use the smaller text transcript.
Localized and older WhatsApp versions can produce different date lines or system wording. If messages are missing or dates look wrong, keep the original file unchanged and try a fresh export. The source file is the best reference for diagnosing a format the parser does not recognize.
- Use the original exported .txt or .zip file
- For files over 50 MB, export without media
- Keep an untouched copy of the original export
- A renamed backup database is not a chat export
What the WhatsApp Viewer can show
- Chronological WhatsApp-style message bubbles
- Participant names, timestamps and date breaks
- Search-term highlighting and exact-message links
- Filters for participant and recognizable message type
- Date navigation for long conversations
- Attachment type and filename when present in the export
- One-to-one and group-chat exports
- A selectable participant perspective
What it cannot do
- Open encrypted .crypt backups or msgstore databases
- Connect to a live WhatsApp account or send messages
- Restore an export back into WhatsApp
- Recover deleted message bodies or missing attachments
- Recreate read receipts, reactions or reply links omitted by the export
- Prove identity, intent, authenticity or legal completeness
- Guarantee every historical or localized export variant will parse perfectly
A private viewer for sensitive conversations
Standard MyChatWrap imports are parsed and analyzed in your browser rather than sent to MyChatWrap's servers for processing. The selected export is stored in your browser's local app database so the dashboard can reopen it on that device. Nothing is posted back to WhatsApp and no participant is contacted. You still control the device, browser profile, downloads and anyone with access to them, so remove an import when you no longer need it and do not upload a chat without the right to use it.
WhatsApp Viewer questions
Related WhatsApp tools
WhatsApp Statistics
Turn an exported chat into a complete report of messages, activity, replies, words, emoji, media, streaks and records.
WhatsApp Chatbook
Turn milestones, statistics and selected memories into an editable keepsake PDF.
WhatsApp Message Counter
See the total, each participant's share, message types and volume over time.
WhatsApp to PDF
Need every message instead? Create a complete chronological transcript PDF.
Open your chat in the WhatsApp Viewer
Choose the export yourself, then read, search and filter it in the Messages dashboard. Nothing is sent back to WhatsApp.
Open WhatsApp export