Text and media need to be checked together
A conversation can depend on a photo, voice note or document that is not understandable from the message text alone. Choosing media during export is a starting point, not a completeness check. See WhatsApp’s export guidance for the available options.
Keep the original exported files together. Before making changes, inspect a working copy: identify the chat TXT, check the accompanying filenames and review the dates that matter. Avoid renaming attachments merely to make the folder neater; names may be needed to associate them with messages.
Separate three different problems
- The file was not supplied. A message refers to an attachment, but the exported set does not contain it. A viewer cannot recover it from the reference.
- The file is present but will not display. Browser support, file format or a damaged file may be involved. Failure to preview is not proof that the attachment is absent.
- The association is unclear. You have a file but cannot confidently connect it to a message. Record that uncertainty rather than guessing from a similar filename.
UnPack shows missing-media indicators for referenced files that were not supplied. It can display supported images and play supplied audio/video locally; other files have attachment records. Do not turn off your scrutiny just because a preview opens successfully.
Keep gaps visible
If relevant media is absent, record what is missing and, where appropriate, seek the original file through the person supplying the material. Keep later-supplied material separately identified. Do not insert a replacement into the original export and describe the result as unchanged.
For a formal review, explain unresolved gaps to the reviewer. A missing attachment could affect how surrounding text is understood; UnPack does not decide what that gap means.
A PDF is not a media archive
Save original audio, video and other files separately from the printable presentation. A PDF does not replace playable media. An Evidence Package can retain supplied media with the source and settings, but cannot add attachments that were never imported.
Media may contain names, faces, voices or other identifying information. Partial number masking in a rendered document does not remove those details from a package. Share only the intended material through an appropriate channel.