The current WhatsApp direct-chat detection derives the chat partner from the normalized ZIP filename stem.
This is too fragile, because simply renaming the exported ZIP can change the inferred chat semantics.
Reproduced
Original file:
WhatsApp-Chat mit Eva Freitag.ziptitle = "Eva Freitag"self_participant_id = "whatsapp-participant:Max Mustermann"- roles:
Eva Freitag = chat_partner, Max Mustermann = me
- directions:
incoming = 2, outgoing = 3
Same file renamed to:
renamed.ziptitle = "renamed"self_participant_id = None- roles: both participants only
member
- directions:
incoming = 5
Problem
A simple ZIP rename can change:
- direct-chat participant roles
- inferred self participant
- message direction rendering
This can semantically distort the exported report.
Desired direction
Do not rely on the outer ZIP filename as the primary source for self/chat-partner detection.
If the export data does not allow reliable self detection, the export should prefer an explicit “unknown / not reliably inferred” state over assigning wrong roles or directions.
The current WhatsApp direct-chat detection derives the chat partner from the normalized ZIP filename stem.
This is too fragile, because simply renaming the exported ZIP can change the inferred chat semantics.
Reproduced
Original file:
WhatsApp-Chat mit Eva Freitag.ziptitle = "Eva Freitag"self_participant_id = "whatsapp-participant:Max Mustermann"Eva Freitag = chat_partner,Max Mustermann = meincoming = 2,outgoing = 3Same file renamed to:
renamed.ziptitle = "renamed"self_participant_id = Nonememberincoming = 5Problem
A simple ZIP rename can change:
This can semantically distort the exported report.
Desired direction
Do not rely on the outer ZIP filename as the primary source for self/chat-partner detection.
If the export data does not allow reliable self detection, the export should prefer an explicit “unknown / not reliably inferred” state over assigning wrong roles or directions.