WhatsApp Live Sync

What it does

WhatsApp Live Sync connects to WhatsApp Web and syncs your messages automatically. New messages appear in Retrace as they arrive. No more exporting .txt files.

Set up live sync

1. Open Retrace and go to Settings
2. Click the Data Sources tab
3. Click WhatsApp Live Sync
4. A QR code will appear
5. Open WhatsApp on your phone
6. Go to Linked Devices and tap Link a Device
7. Scan the QR code with your phone

Once linked, Retrace syncs messages in real-time.

What gets synced

• New incoming and outgoing messages across all chats
• Group messages
• Message metadata (timestamps, sender, read status)

Good to know

• Keeps existing WhatsApp Web working: Retrace acts as an additional linked device. Your WhatsApp Web session is unaffected.
• Phone must stay online: WhatsApp requires your phone to have an internet connection for linked devices to work.
• Initial sync: On first connection, Retrace syncs recent message history. After that, it captures messages in real-time.
• Reconnection: If Retrace is closed and reopened, it reconnects automatically and catches up on missed messages.

Privacy

• Messages are synced directly from WhatsApp's servers to your machine
• No data passes through any third-party service
• The connection uses WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption