Easy steps to preserve your iPhone texts for safe keeping
Kurt 'CyberGuy' Knutsson explains how to print, save and share iPhone texts
How to print iPhone text messages easily and quickly
Do you ever wish you had more concrete evidence of things that were said to you over text? Maybe you need to prove a point, settle a dispute or keep a record of important information.
Whatever the reason, printing out text messages is a great way to keep a hard copy of your conversations, which can come in handy if you ever need to go to court or simply hold someone accountable.
But how do you print out text messages on your iPhone? It’s not as straightforward as you might think. Unlike some other phones, iPhones don’t have a built-in option to print messages directly from the Messages app. However, there are still some ways to do it, depending on how many messages you want to print and whether you want a physical or digital copy.
1. Using screenshots
The easiest and quickest way to print out text messages on an iPhone is to take screenshots of the conversation and then print them from the Photos app. This method works well if you only have a few messages to print, and you don’t mind having them in an image format. Here’s how to do it:
- Go to the Messages app, and choose the conversation you want to print.
- To screenshot the conversation, depending on the type of iPhone you have, click the lock button and the upper volume button at the same time, or on some older iPhones, click the home button and the lock button at the same time.
The easiest way to print text messages from an iPhone is to take screenshots. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)
- Then, go to the Photos app.
- Tap the Albums tab, and select Screenshots.
- Click Select and tap all the screenshots that you want to print (a check mark will appear in a blue circle).
- Then, in the bottom left corner, tap the share button.
Search for screenshots in the photos app. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)
- Then select Print.
- Make sure you have a wireless printer within range and connected to your iPhone, and adjust the settings as you wish.
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- Tap Print in the upper right, and wait for your messages to be printed.
Make sure you have a wireless printer within range and connected to your iPhone. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)
You have successfully printed out text messages on your iPhone using screenshots. However, if you have a lot of messages to print, this method might not be very efficient, as you’ll have to take multiple screenshots and print them one by one. In that case, you might want to try the next method.
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2. Convert text messages to PDF on Mac
One way to save entire text conversations is to convert a chat to PDF from your Mac. However, as you will see by the steps below, if you want to download all the text messages you've had with someone over a long period of time, you may have to do a lot of scrolling back, and then it's possible that your message application may even quit on you. This process is better for a short-term print/save situation, but is somewhat unreliable if you want to go back a long time to print and save your conversations.
- Open the iMessages app on your Mac.
- Select the text conversation you want to save by clicking it.
- Select File.
- Next, choose Print.
You can convert text messages to a PDF. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)
- From the dropdown menu, select the file type.
- Choose to Save as PDF.
PDFs are an effective way to save conversations. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson )
- Now choose what you want it to Save As, Where you want to save it, also the Title, Author and Subject.
- Then click Save.
- You should now have a PDF with your conversation texts and images.
Here's how to save a PDF. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)
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3. Send conversations to a different phone number
Let’s say you don’t have access to a printer, but you still want to copy and export your text thread from your iPhone. You can send it to another number and then print it out later. This is good if you want to share some threads of conversations but not your entire text thread you've had with someone for years. Follow these steps to send your conversations:
- Launch the iMessage app on your iPhone.
- Find the conversation that you want to save and open it.
- Tap and hold on to a message bubble in the conversation.
- Tap More.. when the menu appears.
- Manually select all the messages you want to save by tapping on the circles to the left of the message bubbles.
- Select all the messages you want to save by tapping on the circles to the left of the message bubbles.
- Tap the Share option at the bottom right of the screen.
- Now, choose To whom you want to share the conversation.
- Click the up arrow in the green circle to share.
Here's how to send conversations to a different number. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)
4. Using a third-party app
Another way to print out text messages on an iPhone is to use a third-party app called iMazing. This app allows you to export your messages as a PDF file, which you can then print from your computer or save as a digital copy. This method works well if you have a long history of messages to print, and you want them in a text format. Here’s how to do it:
- Go to iMazing, and click Download.
IMizing is a third-party app. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)
- Once downloaded, install the app on your computer, and launch it.
- Connect your iPhone to your computer using a USB cable.
- Unlock your iPhone, and tap Trust Device when prompted.
You can connect an iPhone to a computer with a USB cable. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)
- On the sidebar of the app, select your device and then click Messages.
Apps icons on an iPhone. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutssoon)
- Select the conversation you wish to export.
- In the top right corner, select from and to which are the dates of the conversations you want to print.
You can scroll and select what conversations you want to print. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)
- Then click Print.
You can scroll and select which conversations you want to print. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)
- Adjust the settings as you wish, and make sure you have a printer connected to your computer and then click Print again.
Make sure to check your settings before printing. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)
Alternatively, if you want to export the messages as a digital copy to save on your computer, you can do the following:
- Follow the same steps as above until step 6.
- Instead of clicking Print, click Export to PDF.
- Click Next, and choose the name and location of where you want to save the PDF file.
- Click Export, and wait for your messages to be exported.
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Kurt's key takeaways
Printing out text messages on an iPhone can be useful for various purposes, such as keeping a record of evidence, documenting important information, or preserving memories. However, it’s not very easy to do it directly from the Messages app, so you’ll need to use some alternative methods, such as taking screenshots or using a third-party app like iMazing.
Have you ever printed out text messages on your iPhone? If so, what was the reason, and which method did you use? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.
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Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.
