Import guide

The 6 rules of a clean import

1. The right format for each app: most apps don't ask you anything (iPhone with the SimuChat app, Android, WhatsApp). Only Instagram, Messenger, Snapchat and TikTok offer a choice of format: then pick JSON rather than HTML or TXT. Details are in each app's section.
2. No media: photos and videos make the export huge and SimuChat doesn't read them. Choose “without media” or “low” quality.
3. The whole period (“all time”): old messages help with style, recent ones with where the relationship stands now.
4. Re-importing is safe: messages already there are recognised and skipped. You can redo a full export every month.
5. One person = one contact, even if you talk on several apps. In step 2, pick “→ their name” under “Add to” to merge. SimuChat suggests it on its own when it recognises the name or number.
6. Delete the export after importing (and empty the recycle bin): SimuChat keeps an encrypted copy, whereas export files can be read by anyone.

📱 iPhone (iMessage and SMS) SimuChat app for Windows · ZIP

The iPhone has no “export my messages” button: the free SimuChat.exe app gets them over a USB cable, on your Windows PC. Download the app and see its page.

1. Download SimuChat.exe and open it. If Windows shows “Windows protected your PC”: More info → Run anyway. The first time, the app checks that Apple's USB driver is there; if it's missing, it offers to install it in one click.
2. Plug in the iPhone, unlock it and tap Trust This Computer if asked. The app shows it straight away.
3. If your iPhone backups are encrypted, type the backup password in the field provided (not the iPhone passcode).
4. Click Back up & export from the iPhone. Keep the iPhone plugged in and its screen on during the copy.
5. The app creates Export-iMessage-SimuChat.zip on your Desktop. Drop it into SimuChat (📥 button): all your conversations are read at once.
6. Then accept to erase the iPhone copy made by the app, and delete the ZIP once imported.

🤖 Android (SMS / MMS) SMS Backup & Restore · XML

Google Messages has no export. Use the free app “SMS Backup & Restore” (by SyncTech).

1. Install SMS Backup & Restore from the Play Store and allow access to SMS.
2. Tap Back up. Tick Messages; untick Phone calls (not needed).
3. Choose Local backup (or Google Drive), then start the backup.
4. Get the sms-YYYYMMDD….xml file onto the PC (USB cable, Drive, email…) or use it directly on the phone.
5. Import the .xml into SimuChat: it contains all the conversations at once.

💬 WhatsApp Export chat · TXT / ZIP

One chat at a time. It works the same on iPhone and Android.

iPhone

1. Open the chat, then tap the contact's name at the top.
2. Scroll down to Export Chat, then choose Without Media.
3. Send it to yourself (Mail, Drive, Save to Files…): it's a .zip. Import it as is, without unzipping it.

Android

1. Open the chat, then ⋮ → More → Export chat → Without media.
2. Send it to yourself: it's a .txt file (sometimes inside a .zip).

📸 Instagram Download your information · JSON

Takes 2 minutes to request; the file usually arrives within a few minutes to a few hours (sometimes up to 48 h).

1. Instagram → your profile → ☰ → Accounts Center.
2. Your information and permissions → Download your information → Download or transfer information.
3. Choose your Instagram account, then Some of your information and tick only Messages.
4. Download to device, then set:
   • Date range: All time
   • Format: JSON (important)
   • Media quality: Low
5. Create files. You get an email when it's ready; come back to the same place to download the .zip (the link expires after a few days).
6. Import the whole .zip into SimuChat. If it's split into several parts, select them all at once.

💙 Messenger (Facebook) JSON

1. Same path as for Instagram (Accounts Center → Download your information), but choose your Facebook account and tick Messages, in JSON format.
2. End-to-end encrypted chats (the default on Messenger since 2024) are not always included in this export. In that case: Messenger → Settings → Privacy & safety → End-to-end encrypted chats → Message storage → download the data. The JSON file you get can be imported too.

👻 Snapchat My Data · JSON

1. Snapchat → your profile → ⚙ Settings → My Data (or go to accounts.snapchat.com in a browser).
2. At the “Select data to include” step, turn on only these 3 options:
   • Export JSON files: the format SimuChat reads.
   • Chat History: your messages.
   • User Data: your friends list, to get real names instead of usernames.
   Leave everything else off, especially Export your Memories and Export Chat Media (several GB, useless here). Then Next.
3. Choose the whole history as the date range, check your email, then submit the request.
4. Download the .zip from the link you get by email (a few hours, up to 7 days). It contains json/chat_history.json.
5. Import the .zip as is, without unzipping it (or else chat_history.json and friends.json).

🎵 TikTok Download your data · JSON

1. TikTok → Profile → ☰ → Settings and privacy → Account → Download your data.
2. Choose Custom and tick Direct messages (and Profile, which helps SimuChat recognise you), or else Select all.
3. Format: JSON (not TXT), then Request data.
4. Come back to the Download data tab when it's ready (from a few hours to a few days) and download the file before it expires.
5. Import the .zip or the user_data_tiktok.json file.

📥 Import into SimuChat

1. Click 📥 at the top of the contact list.
2. Choose the file(s). You can mix several apps in one import.
3. In step 2, for each conversation:
   • Who's who: SimuChat recognises your messages on its own. Open “Preview of the latest messages” to check: yours are on the right. If not, click Swap.
   • Add to: “➕ New contact” or an existing contact, to merge (same person on another app).
   • Untick what doesn't interest you: groups, ads, 3-message conversations.
4. Import. Importing is free: a new contact's profile (style, rhythm, expressions, gender) is calculated directly from the messages, without AI, and it updates itself at every new import.
5. Then open Profile to check the first name and gender, and describe your relationship in Your notes (who they are to you, where things stand, their sense of humour). That's what helps the simulation most, and it's free.
6. Optional and paid: the ✨ Premium portrait has our most powerful AI read your messages to write a finer profile (price shown before you start). Day to day, only simulated replies and 💡 suggestions cost money.

📲 Using SimuChat on your phone

1. On your phone, open simuchat.net in Safari or Chrome and log in to your account: you'll find all your contacts and simulations.
2. To have it like an app: Share → Add to Home Screen (iPhone) or ⋮ → Add to Home screen (Android).
3. Imports work from the phone too (📥 button). Only the iPhone export needs a Windows PC, for the SimuChat app.

🛠 Common problems