Best Apps to Export Text Messages on iPhone

By the Exportly team · Published October 8, 2026

The best app to export text messages from an iPhone depends on one question: do you have a computer? Desktop programs such as iMazing, Decipher TextMessage and TouchCopy run on a Mac or PC and handle your full message history, attachments included. iPhone apps such as TextPort, MsgKeep, TextKeep, Messages and Chat Export PDF and Exportly work without a computer and suit one conversation at a time.

We make Exportly, one of the apps below. This comparison is built from each developer’s App Store listing or website as checked on October 8, 2026. We haven’t run head-to-head tests, so the features described are what each developer states.

Start with the free options

You may not need an app at all.

• Screenshots are free and fine for a few messages (Apple: Take a screenshot on iPhone).
• Messages on a Mac can print any conversation or save it as a PDF with File > Print, if your messages sync there through iCloud (Apple: Print or create a PDF of a conversation, macOS Sequoia guide).

The step-by-step for both is in our guide on how to export text messages from iPhone. The apps below are for when you need a long conversation as a file without a Mac, or a spreadsheet, or your full history.

Text message export apps compared

Sources are linked in each section below. Prices change, so check the App Store or the developer’s site for the current amount.

Desktop programs: best for full history and attachments

iMazing

iMazing exports SMS, MMS and iMessage conversations to PDF in a layout that preserves the familiar Messages look, as well as Excel, CSV and TXT, with attachments (iMazing). Its print options include US Letter, Legal and A4 page sizes, plus page numbers and timestamps. Its guide also covers RSMF export, which requires a Business subscription (iMazing guide). Since June 2025, iMazing sells only yearly subscriptions; a trial mode has no time limit but separates free and premium features (iMazing licensing policy).

Good for: the widest export options and page-size choices, on Mac or Windows.

Decipher TextMessage

Decipher TextMessage reads messages from an iPhone backup and exports them to PDF “with formatting similar to on the iPhone”, plain text and CSV, and saves photos, videos and attachments (Decipher Tools). It’s a one-time purchase with no subscription, each purchase covers two device activations, and a free trial is available. The developer lists a latest update of September 22, 2026.

Good for: people who prefer to pay once.

TouchCopy

TouchCopy from Wide Angle Software exports SMS, RCS, WhatsApp, LINE and iMessage conversations to a PC or Mac as PDF, HTML, CSV or plain text, with attachments (TouchCopy). It’s sold as a lifetime license or a 12-month or 6-month license, with no auto-renewal and a 30-day guarantee (TouchCopy purchase page).

Good for: exporting several messaging apps from one program.

iPhone apps: best when you don’t have a computer

Ratings below are from the US App Store on October 8, 2026, and will change.

TextPort: Text Message Export

TextPort’s listing says it “pulls it straight out of iMessage, right on your iPhone”, lets you choose a conversation and a date range, and exports a “print-ready, timestamped PDF, a searchable CSV spreadsheet, or a plain text transcript”. A subscription is required to export, and a companion desktop app for Mac and Windows handles complete iMessage history (App Store). 1,356 ratings, average 4.4; last updated October 2, 2026.

Good for: choosing a Messages conversation directly on the iPhone, with a desktop option for more.

Text Message Export - MsgKeep

MsgKeep takes screenshots or a screen recording “from any messenger” and exports a PDF with chat bubbles, a structured CSV or plain text. It also lets you “edit messages, fix names, adjust timestamps” and merge multiple chats (App Store). 118 ratings, average 4.6; last updated September 16, 2026.

Good for: correcting the result before you export.

TextKeep - Text Message Export

TextKeep uses text recognition to read your screenshots, stitches them, and exports PDF, CSV, TXT or images. Its listing says your data “is processed securely on our encrypted servers” and deleted after export (App Store). 287 ratings, average 4.4; last updated September 8, 2026.

Good for: turning screenshots into text, if server processing is acceptable to you.

Messages and Chat Export PDF

This app stitches screenshots into a single PDF or image, or records a scrollable conversation as a video, and says all processing is done on your device. Multi-page PDF export requires an in-app purchase. Its listing doesn’t mention text recognition, so expect images of the chat rather than searchable text (App Store). 4,188 ratings, average 4.5; last updated February 18, 2026.

Good for: a long picture of the chat that looks exactly like the screen.

Exportly

Exportly brings in a Messages conversation through its free shortcut for Apple’s Shortcuts app, which needs iOS 26 or later and imports text and photos, with ranges from Last 3 months to Everything (slowest). For other apps, or older iOS, it reads a screen recording or screenshots, in English and Turkish only. It exports PDF (chat bubbles or plain text), Excel (Date, Time, Sender, Message, Attachment), Word, CSV, Text and HTML, and can print. Chats are processed on the iPhone and never uploaded.

Importing and previewing are free; exporting, sharing and printing need Exportly Pro, a weekly or yearly subscription with the price shown in the app before you buy. Exportly has no message editing beyond a contact name on screen imports, doesn’t run on a computer, and doesn’t recover deleted messages. How the Messages shortcut works.

Good for: Word and Excel output, and photos in the PDF, without a computer.

How to choose

Check these before you pay for anything:

1. Where are your messages processed? Some apps say on the device, others on their servers. Read the listing.
2. Text or pictures? Stitched screenshots look right but can’t be searched or sorted. If you need Excel, you need an app that reads the text.
3. Which formats? A lawyer may ask for PDF, an accountant for a spreadsheet. See which format to export a chat to.
4. When was it last updated? One App Store result for “export messages” hadn’t been updated since 2015 and asks for a desktop app built for iOS 10 (App Store).
5. How do you pay? Subscription, one-time purchase or in-app purchase. Most iPhone apps here are free to download but charge to export.

For WhatsApp in particular, see the best WhatsApp chat exporter apps for iPhone.

Questions people ask

Is there a free app to export text messages from iPhone?

The iPhone apps above are free to download, but their listings say exporting requires a purchase or subscription. The free routes are screenshots and, on a Mac, Messages’ File > Print.

Which apps work without a computer?

TextPort, MsgKeep, TextKeep, Messages and Chat Export PDF, and Exportly all run on the iPhone. iMazing, Decipher TextMessage and TouchCopy need a Mac or PC.

Can any of these apps export my whole message history with attachments?

The desktop programs handle the full history and save attachments. On the iPhone, Exportly’s shortcut can import a whole conversation with Everything, including photos, and TextPort’s listing points to its desktop app for complete history.

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