# WA Mail Sync — User Guide A friendly, step-by-step guide to backing up your WhatsApp chats into your mailbox. No technical knowledge needed. --- ## 1. What this app does WhatsApp lets you **export** a chat to a file. On its own, that file is hard to read and easy to lose. This app takes those exported chat files and copies the conversations into **your mailbox**, where they're: - Searchable, like any other email. - Organised under labels/folders — one per chat, all grouped under **WhatsApp**. - Shown as a tidy, WhatsApp-style conversation, with photos and files included (if you exported them). It **adds** the messages to your mailbox. It never sends anything, never deletes anything, and never posts anything back to WhatsApp. --- ## 2. One-time setup: connecting to your mailbox Before the first sync, the app needs permission to add messages to your mailbox. There are two ways to connect. **Email app password (IMAP)** is the default and the recommended one. ### Option A — Email app password (IMAP) — recommended An "app password" is a separate password your email provider generates for one app. It only works for mail, and you can revoke it at any time without changing your real password. 1. Create an app password with your provider. For Gmail, go to your Google Account → Security → 2-Step Verification → App passwords. (Most providers require two-factor authentication to be on before they will issue one.) 2. Open the app, click the **gear icon** (top-right) to open Settings. 3. Leave **Connect via** set to *Email app password (IMAP)*. 4. Choose your provider (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud, Fastmail, or a custom IMAP server — host and port fill in automatically for the known ones). 5. Enter your email address and the app password, then **Save**. 6. The indicator turns **green** and says **Connected**. This does not expire. To disconnect later, click **Forget saved password**. ### Option B — Google sign-in (OAuth) This still works, but comes with two limits worth knowing before you pick it. The app has not gone through Google's app-verification process, so Google treats it as being in "Testing" mode: - Only Google accounts that have been **added as test users** can sign in, and there is a limit of 100. - **Google expires the sign-in about every 7 days**, so you have to reconnect roughly weekly. This is Google's rule for unverified apps and cannot be extended from within the app. If that suits you anyway: 1. Open the app. 2. In the top-right corner, click **Connect**. 3. Your web browser opens a Google sign-in page. Choose the Google account you want your WhatsApp chats saved into. 4. Google asks whether to allow the app to manage your mail. Approve it. 5. Back in the app, the indicator turns **green** and says **Connected**. To disconnect later, click **Sign Out** (this revokes access and removes the saved sign-in). > **Already using Google sign-in?** Nothing changes for you. The app keeps you on > Google sign-in and will not ask for an app password. You can switch to IMAP > whenever you like from Settings. --- ## 3. Exporting a WhatsApp chat to a file Do this on your phone, then move the file to your computer (email it to yourself, use a USB cable, or any cloud drive). ### On Android 1. Open the chat you want to back up. 2. Tap the **⋮** menu (three dots) in the top-right. 3. Tap **More** → **Export chat**. 4. Choose **Include media** (to keep photos and files) or **Without media** (text only — smaller, faster). 5. Choose where to save or how to share the file. ### On iPhone (iOS) 1. Open the chat you want to back up. 2. Tap the contact or group **name** at the top of the screen. 3. Scroll down and tap **Export Chat**. 4. Choose **Attach Media** or **Without Media**. 5. Choose where to save (e.g. **Save to Files**) or how to share it. You'll get either a **`.txt`** file (text only) or a **`.zip`** file (text plus media). The app accepts both. --- ## 4. Adding chat files to the app Once the export file is on your computer: - **Drag and drop** the `.txt` or `.zip` file onto the app window, **or** - Click **Browse Files…** and pick it, **or** - Click **Open Inbox Folder** and copy the file into that folder yourself. Added files appear in the **Files in inbox** list, with a count like "2 files ready to sync". You can add several chats at once. --- ## 5. Running a sync 1. Make sure the indicator at the top says **Connected** (green). 2. Check the options at the bottom-right: - **Dry run** — tick this to do a practice run that reports what *would* happen without changing your mailbox. Great for a first try. - **Chunk size** — how much of the conversation goes into each email: **day** (default), **hour**, or **week**. "Day" means one email per day of chat. 3. Click **▶ Sync Now**. 4. Watch the progress bar and the log at the bottom. You can click **⏹ Stop** to stop after the current file finishes. When it's done, each chat appears in the list on the left with a green dot and a message count. Synced files move out of the inbox automatically. --- ## 6. Where your messages appear **If you connected with Gmail**, open Gmail and look in the labels list (left side). You'll find: - A **WhatsApp** label. - Under it, one label per chat, e.g. **WhatsApp/John Doe**, **WhatsApp/Family Group**. **If you connected with IMAP**, open your mail app and look for a **WhatsApp** folder, with one subfolder per chat, in the same structure. Either way, each chat is a single **conversation thread**. Opening it shows the messages laid out like WhatsApp, with photos shown inline and other files attached for download. > **Shortcut (Gmail only):** In the app's chat list, click the **↗** icon next to > a chat to jump straight to its Gmail thread in your browser. --- ## 7. Troubleshooting & FAQ **The app says "Not connected" or authorising fails.** If you're using **Email app password (IMAP)**, double-check the email address and app password in Settings, and that the app password hasn't been revoked by your provider. If you're using **Google sign-in**, click **Connect** and complete the sign-in in your browser, making sure you pick the right Google account and approve the permission request. If it still fails, click **Sign Out**, then **Connect** again to start fresh. **My file doesn't show up in the inbox.** Only `.txt` and `.zip` files are accepted. Make sure you exported the chat (not a screenshot or contact card), and that the file actually copied over. Click the **⟳** refresh button to re-check the inbox folder. **Will I get duplicate messages if I export and sync the same chat again?** No. The app remembers what it has already saved and only adds new messages. You can safely re-export a chat later to pick up newer messages — the overlap is skipped automatically. **I want to re-do a chat from scratch.** Click the **↺** (re-sync) icon next to the chat in the list. This clears the app's record of that chat and moves its file back to the inbox so you can sync it again. **Delete the old mail first.** This app can only add mail, never remove it, so if the earlier messages are still in your mailbox the next sync files a second copy alongside them. When a chat has already been archived, the app names the folder to clear and asks you to confirm you have cleared it before it will reset. > **On Gmail this needs care.** Gmail has no real folders, only labels — deleting > the label just unlabels the messages and leaves them in All Mail, where the next > sync still counts them as duplicates. Open the label, select every conversation, > delete them, then empty the Bin. **I removed a chat from the list by mistake.** The **✕** button only removes the chat from the app's list — it does **not** delete anything from your mailbox. Your emails are safe. Just add the export file again to bring it back. **The times on some messages look off.** WhatsApp exports don't include a timezone. If your phone's timezone changed between exports, some timestamps can appear shifted. This is a known limitation of WhatsApp exports, not a bug in the app. **My photos/files didn't come through.** You probably exported **Without media**. Re-export the chat choosing **Include media** / **Attach Media** (this produces a `.zip`), then sync that file. **Can I keep a copy of my chat list?** Yes — click the **CSV** button above the chat list to save a spreadsheet of all your synced chats.