

You’re not alone. It’s perfectly natural to wonder what they’re talking about in WhatsApp. After all, they’re you’re loved one. You want to protect them. You want to make sure they’re chatting safely and responsibly — and that they aren’t connecting with people who can harm them.
But understanding how to know WhatsApp chat history of others can seem complicated, especially with so many solutions on that market that claim to give you the inside scoop.
That’s where we come in. Today, we’ll show you how to check others WhatsApp chat history. And the good news? It’s a lot easier than you think.
Table Of Contents
Method #1: Get a Monitoring App
If you’re looking for a less complicated method that does way more, we highly recommend a parental control app like mSpy. With an app like mSpy at your disposal, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to figure out how to see the WhatsApp chat history of others.
With mSpy, you’ll have access to their WhatsApp messages, including texts, pics, and videos. You’ll also be able to see their other social media chats too, like conversations they’re having on Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Line, and even Tinder. It’s all there for you to review in your Control Panel.
But it’s not just about monitoring their social media. It’s about gaining a huge amount of peace of mind. And mSpy delivers by giving you the power to read their text messages and email, review their call history.
You can also see the websites they’ve visited, block apps and sites, see everything they type (hello keylogger), view screenshots of their activity, and get alerted when they type something controversial.
The best part? As they use their phone, there’s no indication that you’re monitoring them. No mSpy app icon on their phone. No notification letting them know they’re being monitored. mSpy really is that sophisticated.
Method #2: Get WhatsApp for Desktop
The second method to view their WhatsApp online history is to use WhatsApp’s own QR code system. For this to work, you’ll need physical access to their phone for a minute. And you’ll need a desktop (any Mac or PC will work). Just follow these steps to get started:
- Download WhatsApp to your Mac or PC.
- Launch the app on your desktop.
- When the app opens, you should see a QR code on screen.
- Open WhatsApp on the phone you want to monitor.
- Tap the Menu or Setting icon.
- Tap Linked Devices.
- Point your phone at the QR code.
That’s it. In a matter of seconds, all their WhatsApp conversations will now be visible on your desktop. You can go into each conversation and see their texts, plus any pics and videos they’ve sent and received. And as new messages are exchanged, they’ll show up automatically.
But keep in mind that if they ever go to Linked Devices on their phone again, they’ll see that a desktop app is being used to view someone’s WhatsApp history. It’ll show the type of OS used (macOS or Windows) and the last time the desktop app was used.
Tapping the device name will even show the device’s location. If they dig deep, they’ll know you’re monitoring them.
Method #3: Take Advantage of Chat Backup
If you’d rather not keep WhatsApp installed on your desktop, WhatsApp offers another method called Chat Backup. When activated, you’ll no longer be asking yourself how to get WhatsApp chat history of others online because everything will be automatic for you.
With Chat Backup, their conversations are backed up to the cloud (iCloud on iOS and Google Drive on Android). You can turn on automatic backup, so everything is pushed to the cloud on a regular basis (daily/weekly/monthly) or just one time. Here’s how to activate it:
- Open WhatsApp on the phone you want to monitor.
- Tap the Menu or Setting icon.
- Tap Chats.
- Tap Chat Backup.
- Tap Back Up Now.
- Wait for everything to back up.
To view the chat backup, you’ll need access to their iCloud or Google account. As long as you know that information, figuring out how to view WhatsApp chat history online is a piece of cake.
Always Go The Legal Route
Now that you know how to get WhatsApp chat history of other mobile device users, we have one final piece of advice. Whatever method you choose, make sure you end up with a trustworthy and legal solution.
mSpy is designed for parents who want to monitor their underage children in their own home. In most jurisdictions, it’s legal to do so (but you should always check your local laws before using any app).
We recommend that you choose an app that’s legal and trustworthy. By choosing a free app that overpromises, you could be putting your safety and privacy at risk.
If I install mspy on target’s phone today, will I be able to see previous whatsapp chat history with any contact?
Hi, Sam! If the monitored device is an iPhone, you might be able to get them if they were backed up to iCloud. Otherwise, unfortunately, you’ll only see the messages that appeared after the installation of the software.
Hi Linn
I am interested to buy Mspy however was not clear about the below features as I was comparing other parental apps also.
wanted to clarify that the app is to be installed on the target phone ? then will the icon be visible to the target user?
secondly, do we need to add the accounts seperately like – instagram, whatsapp, FB etc. since we need to add all manually we might not be having the access to personal accounts of the child especially the teens?
I hope Mspy will not be requiring such configuration rather monitoring / logging of al the chat apps being used , different Whatsapp accounts numbers used by the teenagers on the same phone?
Hello, Faisal! Thanks for taking an interest in our app.
To answer your questions:
1. There’s an option to hide the app’s icon on the target device so it won’t be visible to the user.
2. No, you don’t need to log in to any accounts on your end. As soon as the child opens the chat on their phone, the software will automatically start syncing the data. You can also take screenshots of the chats in certain social apps through the Screenrecorder feature.
If the child uses the same phone to log into different WhatsApp accounts, the software will still be able to track messages.
How many devices I can monitor with a single premium plan of one year?
Hello, Dheeraj! One Premium subscription covers one device only. If you need to monitor more than one device at the same time, you can buy our Family Kit that covers up to 3 devices.
Can I change device with single plan after some interval and do i need to root device for instant messages??
Hello, Jenn!
You can switch devices within the same subscription without additional fees anytime. As for the rooting, most messengers can be monitored without root, and we’re working on adding such a solution for all of them. If you need info about a specific app, you can message our support team in the chat.
My kids have iPhones and I keep seeing the “premium features” are only available for rooted devices. Does this only apply to Android or ios as well?
Hi, Joshua!
mSpy for iOS has a slightly different set of available features due to Apple’s security protocols.
There are things you can monitor without jailbreaking the phone. You can read more about it here.
Do I have to install app on target phone? Do I need Apple ID and password for target phone too???
Please reply
Hi! If you’re installing the app directly on the phone, you don’t need iCloud credentials.
Nice
Hello,
Must it be installed on the target phone? What about when there is distance?
Hello.
I hope this message finds you well.
The only way to monitor a phone is to install our software directly on that device.
You can not track the phone over the phone number or IMEI number. It’s technically impossible.
HOW CAN I FIND DELETED CHAT HISTORY FROM MY GIRLD FRIEND PHONE
Hello.
Thank you for your question.
Please be informed that mSpy is a legal application. It is designed to help parents monitor their children and businesses monitor their employee’s use of IT equipment with the knowledge and consent of the employees. Please check our Legal Policy before installing mSpy – Legal Policy (You can switch languages at the very top)
Please, also refer to our official web page to FAQ section: FAQ
Once you open it, please, locate Question 9: How can I uninstall mSpy? There is an instruction on how to remove mSpy from the mobile device.
For more information please refer to About mSpy
mSpy tracks the deleted text messages in case they were not deleted right away after sending (within a couple of minutes). They are available among all other messages, there is no separate section for them.