Chatcove requirements
Chatcove runs on Apple Silicon Macs (M1 or newer) with macOS 12 Monterey or later. You also need an iPhone with WhatsApp, a USB cable, and free disk space for a full iPhone backup. Everything stays on your Mac.
Your Mac
Section titled "Your Mac"| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| macOS | macOS 12 Monterey or later |
| Processor | Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4 and newer) |
| Intel Macs | Not supported. The download is built for Apple Silicon only, and the file name ends in -arm64.dmg. |
| Internet | Not needed to back up or export. Chatcove only goes online for the licence check, the update check, and a problem report if you choose to send one. See Privacy. |
| Extra software | None. Chatcove includes the tools it needs to talk to your iPhone. |
Your iPhone
Section titled "Your iPhone"- An iPhone with WhatsApp installed and chats in it.
- A USB cable that connects the iPhone to the Mac. Chatcove talks to the iPhone over the cable.
- You need to be able to unlock the iPhone and enter its passcode on the phone during the backup.
- A current iOS version.
Disk space
Section titled "Disk space"A full iPhone backup can be tens of gigabytes, because it includes your camera roll and every app's data, not just WhatsApp. Before the first backup Chatcove asks the iPhone how much data it holds and compares it with the free space where the backup will be stored, with a 10 percent safety margin.
- If there is enough room, the backup screen shows how much will be transferred and how much is free.
- If there is not enough room, Chatcove warns you and offers Choose another disk, so you can store the backup on an external drive. See Install Chatcove for the backup folder.
Exports are much smaller than the backup. A text-only export is the smallest and fastest. Media in HTML and PDF exports takes more room.
What a backup is, and how long it takes
Section titled "What a backup is, and how long it takes"A backup is a copy of your iPhone's data stored on your Mac. WhatsApp's message database is only included when the backup is encrypted, so Chatcove always makes an encrypted backup. How the local backup works explains the details.
From the app's own wait-state messages:
- A first backup usually takes 10 to 60 minutes, depending on how much is on the iPhone. Later backups usually transfer only what changed and are much faster.
- The first backup to a new Mac can take several minutes to start after the passcode. That is normal.
- Reading your WhatsApp history from the backup is usually under a minute.
Install Chatcove, then follow Your first export.