WhatsApp screenshots vs chat export

Fragmented screenshot frames and a continuous transcript path taking different routes into one analysis board. — The source determines which evidence survives and which checks are still needed.

1. Start with the source that keeps timestamps

Use a WhatsApp export when you can. It gives Tellune the best chance of keeping message order and readable timestamps, while screenshots are a best-effort fallback for conversations without a usable export.

Tellune reads a .txt export or a supported safe .zip containing the transcript. File reading, parsing, and deterministic indicators happen on the device. If you have not made the file yet, follow the iPhone WhatsApp export steps and choose Without Media.

An export is still evidence with limits. A missing or unreadable timestamp stays missing, and a file with more than two detected senders is flagged as a group chat. Tellune does not repair either problem by inventing data.

2. The formats preserve different evidence

An export and a screenshot are not two containers for the same information. The export supplies structured lines that can include sender names and timestamps. A screenshot supplies pixels, visible bubble sides, selected text, and only the times that happen to appear on screen.

Question	WhatsApp export	Screenshots
Where is it read?	On the device	Compressed copies sent after confirmation
Message sequence	From the transcript	From the selected image order
Timestamps	Used when readable	Often incomplete; timing may be unavailable
Checks needed	Confirm people and date order	Review text, sides, order, gaps and duplicates
Input boundary	.txt or supported safe .zip	Up to 20 images in the current app

Table 1: The useful difference is evidence fidelity, not file extension.

That difference changes what a report can calculate. Message balance and question detection can use confirmed text without full timestamps. Reply pace, long waits, late-night activity, and session boundaries depend on timing evidence. If the evidence is missing, the indicator should be unavailable.

3. Screenshots need an extraction review

The current screenshot flow is deliberately more involved:

Choose or paste up to 20 images and put them oldest-first.
Confirm which bubble side belongs to you.
Approve sending temporary compressed copies to the AI reader.
Let Tellune extract visible message text through its service.
Review low-confidence text, unreadable bubbles, duplicate candidates, and possible gaps before analysis.

The app can propose an order from photo capture times when those times exist. It also warns about repeated selections and large capture-time gaps. These checks do not prove the set is complete. They point to places you should inspect.

Tellune removes the local compressed temporary file after preparing each request and does not add screenshot originals or compressed copies to report history. That client behavior does not justify a blanket retention claim about every system involved. The full processing-stage explanation covers the limits.

4. Which source should you use?

You have a usable WhatsApp export. Use it. It is the reliability anchor for ordered, timestamp-dependent analysis.
You only have screenshots. Use a continuous, correctly ordered set and review every extracted line that matters to the result.
The layout is hard to read. Treat extraction as best effort. The current UI names several common chat layouts, but it does not promise every platform version, theme, language, or crop.
You started with the wrong source. Begin a new import. The current flow replaces one source with the other; it does not splice screenshots into a WhatsApp transcript.
Neither source is reliable. Stop. A smaller honest result is better than a precise-looking result built from guessed content.

The number 20 is a product cap, not a recommendation. A disconnected set can describe less of a conversation than a smaller continuous run. Tellune can warn about obvious gaps, but it cannot know what you chose not to capture.

Before choosing a fallback, decide which measures you need. The full chat-reading method explains which indicators depend on timing and which can use confirmed text.

5. Make the privacy choice before upload

An export keeps the raw-file parsing and indicator calculation on the device. Screenshot extraction sends compressed image copies through Tellune’s service after a separate confirmation.

Only analyze a conversation you participated in and may lawfully access. Do not use either path to inspect someone else’s device or account.