TextExhibits

Exporting and printing

How to export a WhatsApp chat for court

Last reviewed · 4 official sources cited below

WhatsApp has an official Export chat feature in its mobile apps. It produces a plain-text transcript of a chat and, if you choose, recent media files. That file is a much better starting point for a court document than screenshots.

Export the chat (official steps)

From WhatsApp’s Help Center, How to export your chat history:

  1. Open the individual or group chat.
  2. On Android: tap More options (⋮) > More > Export chat. On iPhone: tap the contact or group name, then Export Chat.
  3. Choose Without media or Include media (on iPhone the choice may read Attach Media).
  4. Pick where to send or save it, such as Files, Drive, email or Notes.

WhatsApp’s notes: with Include media, “the most recent media sent will be added as attachments”, and the export “can’t be re-imported because it’s a text file and not a backup file”. The desktop apps can also export a ZIP, but WhatsApp says media isn’t included there, and view-once and disappearing messages aren’t exported.

Keep the file exactly as exported

  • Save the .txt or .zip to a folder and don’t open and re-save it in a text editor, because that can change line endings or encoding.
  • Write down the date, the phone and the WhatsApp version you exported from.
  • If you send the file to your lawyer, send the same file. Its SHA-256 hash (printed on the TextExhibits cover page) lets anyone confirm it hasn’t changed. The U.S. federal rules’ committee notes describe hash values as the usual way copied electronic data is authenticated today (notes to FRE 902(14)).

Turn it into a court-style PDF

Open the .txt or .zip in TextExhibits:

  • iPhone and Android formats and many date styles are detected automatically (US month/day, day/month, German dotted dates, 12- or 24-hour clocks);
  • the cover page lists the source file name, SHA-256, message count, date range and participants;
  • messages are in order with sender and timestamp, and every page says “Page X of Y”;
  • photos in a .zip export are shown inline.

Time zones

A WhatsApp text export shows the phone’s local time and doesn’t say which time zone that is. Note the phone’s time zone when you export, and declare it in the tool so it appears on the cover page. See time zones in message evidence.

Make the PDF in your browser

Open a WhatsApp export, SMS Backup & Restore XML or iMazing CSV and get a page-numbered transcript with the source file’s SHA-256 fingerprint. Nothing is uploaded.

Open TextExhibits

Quick answers

Does the WhatsApp export include deleted messages?

No. It contains what is in the chat on that phone at export time. WhatsApp says view-once and disappearing messages are not exported (desktop export notes).

Should I export with or without media?

If photos or voice notes matter, export once without media (smaller, text-only) and once with media, and keep both files unchanged.

Sources

  1. WhatsApp Help Center — How to export your chat history
  2. Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule 901 — Authenticating or Identifying Evidence (Cornell LII)
  3. Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule 902 — Evidence That Is Self-Authenticating, incl. 902(13)–(14) and committee notes (Cornell LII)
  4. Civil Procedure Rules, Practice Direction 32 — Evidence (exhibits, paras 11–15) (Ministry of Justice)

Sources were opened and checked on 2026-10-17. Laws and rules change; always read the current version.