How to export your text messages as a PDF from iPhone, iPad, and Mac

In this tutorial, we will show you how to export your iMessage and SMS chatsĀ as PDFs from your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, making it easy to save, organize, and easily share these conversations.

Export iPhone messages as PDF

Why export iPhone messages as PDF

  • To print the message conversation for submitting it as proof or for other similar purposes.
  • To send your iPhone texts to someone else via email, WhatsApp, etc.
  • If youā€™re moving from iPhone to Android and want to save the texts as a PDF so that you can read them later.

Export iPhone messages as a PDF using your Mac

Doing this from your Mac is arguably the best way to export chats as PDF because it is the only built-in method.

1) Open the Messages app on your Mac, and you will see your iMessage and iPhone SMS conversations here.

If you donā€™t see them, set up your Macā€™s Messages app and sign in to iMessage using your Apple ID. You can also turn on Messages in iCloud and set up Text Message Forwarding to see your iPhone SMS inside your Mac’s Messages app.

2) Select a conversation from the Messages app sidebar.

3) From the top menu bar, click File > Print.

Print from Mac Messages app

4) Click the PDF box from the bottom or click the arrow next to PDF and choose Save as PDF.

Save message as PDF on Mac

5) Finally, rename the file, choose a location, and click Save.

Click Save to export messages as a PDF file

This conversation is now saved as a PDF file. Open it to go through your messages.

Note:

  • Media (images, videos, docs, and such) will appear as empty placeholders in the PDF. You will have to save them from the Messages app to a folder or other appropriate app.
  • Mac’s Messages app may crash if you try to export a group conversation or a long chat with lots of media. Restart your Mac, and it should help. If not, update it to the latest version of macOS.

Save iMessage and SMS as PDF from iPhone or iPad

Unlike the method involving your Mac, there is no straightforward way to save your iMessage and SMS conversations as a PDF straight from your iOS device. All you can do is take screenshots of your conversation and then save them as a PDF file.

Stitch your message screenshots and then save them as a PDF

You can take multiple screenshots of a conversation and turn those screenshots into a scrollshot. The scrollshot will remove the unnecessary top and bottom parts of the screenshots and turn them into one very long image. This way, the final PDF will almost match the experience of scrolling through a conversation in the Messages app.

PicSew Preview and Finished on iPhone

You can use an app like Picsew to capture a screenshot of a whole text thread and then save it as a PDF.

In addition to that, you can combine several screenshots vertically and then convert the final long image into a PDF.

Make a PDF using multiple iPhone photos

If you donā€™t want to stitch several screenshots together, simply turn all individual screenshots into a PDF file straight from your iPhone or iPad and save it to the Files app.

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