You Have the WhatsApp .zip. Here Is What to Do With It

A WhatsApp export ZIP contains `_chat.txt` and any voice messages, images, videos or documents you chose to include. Open the ZIP with the Files app on iPhone, Google Drive on Android, or your computer's file manager. The guide below explains what each file means and what you can do with it.

What is inside the .zip

When WhatsApp packages a chat export it creates a compressed archive. Extract it and you will find, at minimum, one text file. If you chose "Include media" during export, you will also find a collection of audio, image, video, and document files alongside it.

Nothing is encrypted inside the archive itself; the .zip is a straightforward container you can open with any standard file manager.

A typical extracted folder looks like this:

```

_chat.txt

PTT-20240315-WA0012.opus

PTT-20240318-WA0003.opus

IMG-20240316-WA0001.jpg

IMG-20240317-WA0005.jpg

VID-20240314-WA0002.mp4

document-20240320-WA0001.pdf

```

Each file has a purpose, and understanding them helps you decide what to do next.

If you just want to see what is inside before extracting anything, the free WhatsApp export reader opens the .zip in your browser.

It counts the messages, months, people and voice messages, and gives the conversation back as text, a web page or a PDF. The file is never uploaded, and nothing is transcribed or summarised.

_chat.txt: the backbone of your export

Format and encoding

`_chat.txt` is a plain UTF-8 text file. Every message occupies one line (or continues on the next line if it contains a line break). The format is consistent:

```

[DD/MM/YYYY, HH:MM:SS] Sender Name: Message body here

```

The exact date format varies slightly by device locale, but the bracketed timestamp is always present. Because it is UTF-8, emoji, Arabic script, Hebrew, Chinese characters, and other non-Latin text are preserved without corruption, provided the app you use to open it respects that encoding. If you see garbled characters, switch your text editor to UTF-8 mode explicitly.

What the attachment markers mean

When a media file is attached to a message, WhatsApp inserts a placeholder line like this:

```

[16/03/2024, 09:14:22] Maria: IMG-20240316-WA0001.jpg (file attached)

```

The actual image is not embedded in the text. It is the separate `.jpg` file in the same folder. One important limitation: captions typed directly beneath a photo or video are sometimes omitted from `_chat.txt` entirely, depending on the WhatsApp version and platform. If a message looks truncated, check whether a media file with the corresponding timestamp exists alongside it.

System messages

Lines without a sender name are system events: group membership changes, security code notifications, missed call logs, and similar metadata. These lines are useful for reconstructing a timeline but are not conversational messages.

For a deeper look at how WhatsApp structures its exports across different platforms and formats, see the guide on WhatsApp export formats explained.

.opus and .m4a: the voice messages

Voice messages are the files that most people overlook, yet they often contain the most substantive content in a chat.

File naming

Voice messages follow the same date-stamped convention as other media:

```

PTT-YYYYMMDD-WAXXXX.opus (Android)

PTT-YYYYMMDD-WAXXXX.m4a (iOS)

```

"PTT" stands for Push-To-Talk, WhatsApp's internal label for recorded voice messages. The date segment tells you when the note was sent or received. The `WAXXXX` suffix is a sequential identifier that prevents filename collisions when multiple voice messages arrive on the same day.

Playback and transcription

Both `.opus` and `.m4a` are compressed audio formats. Most modern media players handle them natively, but if yours does not, VLC plays both without any additional codecs.

Listening to dozens of voice messages manually is time-consuming. ThreadRecap can transcribe each voice message in your export through OpenAI's audio transcription service; clear recordings generally produce better results. The transcript is placed alongside the associated message timestamp and sender label from the export so it is easier to review in context.

If the voice messages are the whole reason you exported this chat, WhatsApp audio to text covers that path on its own — and when what was said needs to hold up in a dispute, voice messages as evidence shows what the written record looks like.

.jpg, .mp4, .pdf: media and documents

Images and videos

Image filenames follow the pattern `IMG-YYYYMMDD-WAXXXX.jpg` and video filenames follow `VID-YYYYMMDD-WAXXXX.mp4`. The date in the filename reflects when the file was shared in the chat, not necessarily when it was created on the sender's device. This distinction matters if you are using the export for dispute or compliance purposes: the filename date is the transmission date.

Screenshots, photos taken in-app, and images forwarded from other chats all land in the same folder with the same naming convention, so you cannot tell from the filename alone whether an image was original or forwarded.

Documents and PDFs

Exported documents appear with a prefix like `document-YYYYMMDD-WAXXXX` followed by their original extension (.pdf, .docx, .xlsx, and so on). The original filename is not always preserved; WhatsApp sometimes replaces it with the generic prefix. If the document's actual name matters for your records, cross-reference it with the corresponding `(file attached)` line in `_chat.txt`, where the original name may still appear.

What stays in the .zip and what does not

Stickers, GIFs sent from WhatsApp's built-in library, and some link previews are not included in the export. Deleted messages leave no trace in `_chat.txt`. If a message was deleted before you exported, it is gone from the file.

Where to upload to get an analysis

Once you understand the structure, the natural next step is to turn raw files into something readable and actionable.

Upload your .zip to ThreadRecap and the tool processes the entire export in one pass. The workflow is:

1. You export the chat from WhatsApp on your own device.
2. You upload the .zip directly from your device to your ThreadRecap account.
3. ThreadRecap parses `_chat.txt`, transcribes every voice message, and generates structured output: a Meeting Recap, Action Items, Decisions log, Conflict Resolution summary, and Relationship Insights.

For exports containing 75,000 or more messages, the full analysis still runs in a single upload. ZIP files up to 2 GB are supported.

What stays on your device

Photos, documents, and the video files themselves are never uploaded; if you include videos, your browser extracts their audio track and sends only that. ThreadRecap reads only the chat text and the voice message audio files. If your .zip contains sensitive images or confidential PDFs, they do not leave your device at any point during the process.

Chat text and voice message audio are stored encrypted in your ThreadRecap account after processing. You can delete them at any time from your dashboard. You remain in control of the data from the moment you create the export to the moment you choose to remove it.

For a broader look at the privacy considerations involved, the article on whether it is safe to upload a WhatsApp chat to an AI tool covers the key questions in detail.

Security notes: keep the original untouched

Before you do anything else with your export, make one copy and store it somewhere you will not accidentally modify.

Why the original matters

`_chat.txt` is a plain text file, and a text editor can overwrite it silently. If you are keeping an export for a legal, dispute, or compliance matter, preserve the original .zip separately and avoid opening and re-saving its contents. File-system timestamps alone do not establish where a file came from or whether it is authentic.

Practical steps:

• Copy the entire extracted folder to a separate location before opening any file.
• If the export is for legal purposes, ask a qualified professional whether to record a hash at the point of collection. A hash can later compare copies only when that recorded value has a documented basis; by itself, it does not authenticate the export.
• Store the original .zip in a location with access logging if possible, such as a cloud drive with version history enabled.

Passwords and sharing

The .zip itself is not password-protected by default. Anyone who receives the file can extract and read it. If you need to share the export with a lawyer, HR team, or compliance officer, use an encrypted transfer method rather than email. Treat the file with the same caution you would apply to any document containing private conversation data.

Making sense of it all

A WhatsApp export is more structured than it looks. `_chat.txt` contains the messages WhatsApp included, while separate files may contain voice messages and media. A structured analysis can make the conversation easier to review, but it does not verify the export's origin, completeness, or legal status. Keep the original .zip alongside any analysis if those questions matter.

The gap between "I have a .zip file" and "I have a clear record of what was decided, promised, and communicated" is exactly what ThreadRecap is built to close.

If you want to see the analysis workflow in more detail before uploading, the guide on exporting a WhatsApp chat for analysis walks through the full process from the Export chat menu inside the conversation to structured output.