The best apps to print text messages for court in 2026
Published October 26, 2026
Short answer: there is no single best app; there is a best app for your phone and situation. With an iPhone, a computer and a long history, a desktop export program such as Decipher TextMessage or iMazing prints whole conversations with a time on every message. On Android with ordinary texts, TextExhibit or the free SMS Backup & Restore read the phone directly. If you only have the phone, the conversation is in WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram or Snapchat, or the hearing is close, screenshots turned into a numbered transcript are the practical route.
We make one of the tools below, Court Texts, so this is a comparison from one side. The facts about the others come from their makers' own sites, checked in October 2026. Prices change; confirm before you buy.
The seven options side by side
| App | Phones | Needs a computer | Messages it covers | What you get | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decipher TextMessage | iPhone | Yes, Mac or Windows | iMessage, SMS, MMS | Whole conversations to PDF with contact names and a date and time on every message | $29.99 one-time |
| iMazing | iPhone | Yes, Mac or Windows | iMessage, SMS, RCS, WhatsApp | PDF, Excel, CSV and RSMF exports, with more metadata | Subscription, with a one-time option |
| TextExhibit | Android app; iPhone through a computer backup | Not on Android | SMS and MMS only | PDF with optional Bates numbers and a hash report | $19.99 one-time unlock |
| SMS Backup & Restore | Android | No | SMS and MMS | A backup file; its sibling app prints a conversation to PDF as a plain list | Free |
| WhatsApp "Export chat" | Any | No | That WhatsApp chat | A text file of the whole chat with dates and times, optionally with media | Free |
| ThreadProof | Any, from screenshots | No | Anything you can screenshot | Your screenshots in a PDF with a cover, page numbers, optional redaction and hashes; it does not retype the messages | Free up to 8 screenshots with a watermark; $24 for 90 days |
| Court Texts | Any, from screenshots or a screen recording | No | Anything you can screenshot, including group chats | A typed, numbered, dated transcript with every screenshot attached as an exhibit, and a method statement | Free preview; $19 once to export |
Which one fits your case
iPhone, a computer, and a long conversation
Use a desktop export program. Decipher TextMessage is the simpler choice and a single one-time price. iMazing does more, including WhatsApp and formats a lawyer's review software can load, and costs more. Both need a backup of the iPhone on the computer first, which can take an hour and needs free disk space. We compare them in detail in Decipher TextMessage or iMazing for court.
Android, ordinary text messages
TextExhibit runs on the phone and produces court-style PDFs with Bates numbers. SMS Backup & Restore is free and gets the messages out, but the printout is a plain list that still needs organising. Neither reads WhatsApp, Messenger or other apps, and some RCS chats can be missing. See TextExhibit alternatives and SMS Backup & Restore to a court PDF.
Export the chat from WhatsApp itself; it is free and complete. The result is a plain text file, so many people also take screenshots for the parts the judge needs to see, because a screenshot shows the conversation the way it looked. See print WhatsApp messages for court.
Only a phone, another app, or not much time
Screenshots work for every app and every phone, and need no backup. The weakness of raw screenshots is that forty of them are hard for a judge to read: they overlap, repeat and lose their dates. ThreadProof packages the screenshots into a tidy PDF and can black out details before anyone sees them. Court Texts reads the screenshots, or a screen recording of you scrolling the chat, into a numbered, dated transcript that a judge can follow line by line, with every original screenshot attached behind it. Our ThreadProof vs Court Texts page goes through the differences.
A lawyer is involved
Ask what format they want before you buy anything. Some firms want a native export they can load into review software, which points to iMazing; others are happy with a PDF transcript.
Can you pick up Sofia at 3 today?
I told you I can't on Tuesdays.
What every option has in common
None of them proves who was holding the phone, and none recovers messages that were deleted. What a judge needs from any of them is the same: the sender, the date and time on every message, the whole exchange rather than selected lines, and pages that can be numbered and referred to. You still have to be able to say where the messages came from. For the six broader routes, including carrier records and forensic extraction, see the best way to get text messages for court.
This page is general information, not legal advice. The products named belong to their own companies, which have no connection to Court Texts.
Common questions
What is the best app to print text messages for court?
It depends on the phone and the situation. With an iPhone and a computer, Decipher TextMessage ($29.99 once) or iMazing print whole conversations. On Android, TextExhibit or the free SMS Backup & Restore read texts from the phone. For WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Snapchat or when you only have the phone, screenshots turned into a transcript, for example with Court Texts, are the practical route.
Is there a free app to print text messages for court?
On Android, SMS Backup & Restore and its print sibling are free; the output is a plain list. WhatsApp's own Export chat is free. On a Mac with Messages synced through iCloud you can print a conversation to PDF for free, though it lacks a time on every message. Court Texts shows its transcript free for the first ten screenshots and charges $19 only to export.
Can I print text messages for court without a computer?
Yes. On Android, TextExhibit and SMS Backup & Restore work on the phone. On any phone, screenshots or a screen recording of the conversation can be turned into a transcript PDF on the phone itself.
Do courts require a specific app?
No. Courts care about the result: sender, date and time on each message, the whole exchange, numbered pages, and that you can say where it came from. Check your court's exhibit rules for format and copies.
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