Export a WhatsApp chat to PDF with images

WhatsApp chat to PDF — with images, not just text

WhatsApp’s built-in export gives you a .txt file plus separate media files. That’s not very useful: photos lose their context to the conversation, file names like IMG-20260315-WA0042.jpg say nothing on their own, and nobody wants to click through hundreds of separate files just to follow a thread.

What you actually need is a single PDF where photos appear right where they were sent — next to the message, with the timestamp and sender intact.

Why the default isn’t enough

The .txt file looks like this:

[15/03/2026, 14:32:08] Carlos: ‎IMG-20260315-WA0042.jpg (file attached)
[15/03/2026, 14:32:15] You: Perfect, thanks!

You can see that an image was sent — but not which one. Reconstructing the context means jumping between the text file and a folder of photos. That doesn’t work for reading, sharing with someone, archiving, or showing customer support what was actually agreed.

How Zap2Doc solves it

Zap2Doc takes your WhatsApp export (the .zip with media included) and produces a single PDF where:

  • Images appear inline — embedded in the chronology, right next to the message
  • Voice notes are transcribed automatically — Whisper handles every language
  • PDF attachments are preserved — as a thumbnail in the document
  • Timestamps and senders are visible — no more guessing who sent what when

Nothing to install. The export stays on your device, travels over an encrypted connection to cloud storage, gets processed, and is wiped within 24 hours.

How to export the chat the right way (with media)

For images to end up in the PDF, you need to choose “Include media” when exporting from WhatsApp — otherwise you get text only.

On Android:

  1. Open the chat in WhatsApp
  2. Tap the menu (⋮) → “More”
  3. Tap “Export chat”
  4. Choose “Include media” — this step is critical
  5. Save the .zip locally or email it to yourself

On iPhone:

  1. Open the chat in WhatsApp
  2. Tap the contact name at the top
  3. Scroll down and tap “Export Chat”
  4. Choose “Attach Media” — without this step, all photos are missing
  5. Save to Files or share via email

If you can’t find the option, the help guide built into Zap2Doc’s upload area walks you through it — it opens automatically if the uploaded .zip doesn’t contain a _chat.txt.

What ends up in the PDF

  • Cover page with participants, date range and totals (messages, images, audio minutes)
  • Chronological messages, grouped by date, sender and time visible per block
  • Inline images, embedded in the order they were sent
  • Transcripts of every voice note, in the original language
  • Embedded PDF attachments as previews

The PDF is fully searchable — Cmd+F or Ctrl+F finds any message or transcribed audio.

What people use this for

  • Documenting orders and deliveries when the seller confirmed in chat
  • Negotiation records between business partners, including all the product photos that were exchanged
  • Family archives — preserving important threads before a phone change
  • Professional documentation — consulting threads, client communication, project handoffs
  • Hand-over records with photos — apartment move-out, vehicle sales, repairs

In all of these, a bare .txt loses the visual context that made the conversation make sense. With images in their right place, the document still reads cleanly months later.

Privacy

  • The transfer runs over an encrypted connection
  • The uploaded .zip and preview are wiped after 24 hours
  • The final PDF stays available for 7 days, then it’s also wiped
  • Nothing is processed against your media without payment

Free preview before paying

At Zap2Doc you upload the export and immediately see a free single-page preview with stats (messages, audios, images). You decide afterwards whether to run full processing with images and audio transcripts.

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