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iPhone text messages: what works today, and what is coming

Updated November 8, 2026

The iPhone Messages app has no “export conversation” button. Apple’s own support community is full of people asking how to print texts for court. There is no perfect answer yet, but there are workable options, and WhatsApp chats on iPhone export cleanly.

Options that work today

1. WhatsApp chats: export directly

If the conversation happened in WhatsApp, use WhatsApp’s Export chat on the iPhone (steps here). The .zip it creates works in our exhibit tool today, with dates, senders, attachments, Bates numbers and a source hash.

2. Print from Messages on a Mac

If you have a Mac signed in to the same Apple Account with Messages in iCloud turned on, your conversations appear in the Messages app on the Mac. Open the conversation, scroll up until the period you need has loaded, then choose File › Print and save as PDF. This captures what is on screen in the conversation, but it has no cover sheet, page IDs or file hash, and long conversations can be awkward to load completely.

3. Screenshots

Screenshots are quick but weak: they are images, they are easy to crop, and they may not show the date of every message. If you must use them, swipe left on the conversation in Messages to reveal the time of each message, include the contact’s details screen, and capture the conversation in order without gaps.

4. Desktop apps that read an iPhone backup

Several paid desktop programs read the backup your computer makes of an iPhone (with Finder on a Mac or the Apple Devices app or iTunes on Windows) and export conversations. Check reviews, pricing and how they handle your data before using one.

Keep the messages safe meanwhile

• In the iPhone’s Settings, open Messages and check that Keep Messages is set to Forever, so older messages are not deleted automatically.
• Back up the iPhone to a computer or iCloud before changing or resetting it.
• Don’t delete the conversation, even after you have copies.

What is coming

We are working on an iPhone importer that reads an unencrypted computer backup of the iPhone, or the Messages database on a Mac, inside your browser, with the same privacy as the rest of the tool: nothing uploaded. We are not promising a date. If you want to know when it is ready, leave a note on the support page with a way to reach you.